Light in Darkness
by ShinyEevee87
Summary: Kei is a half monster that arrives in Alvarna after the destruction of her hometown. People from her past soon follow and could possibly end up destroying the town and everyone there. LeonelXOC. Chapters will get better.
1. Arriving in Alvarna

**My new fanfic.. This is different from my last on but I hope you enjoy it. Name of the story might change because I'm not good at names.**

I had no idea where I was. I had been wandering the thick forests in these parts for a while and I was fairly certain I had gotten myself lost. My tail swished behind me, hitting the leaves as I walked. Leaves on the trees caused the late summer sun to dapple the ground. I had been walking for as long as I could remember, I couldn't seem to remember what happened after the incident at home and waking up in the middle of nowhere.

Now I simply sought a place to rest from my long journey. I had travelled across a cold mountain range and had caught a few fish but hadn't had a decent meal since waking up to find myself here. I could smell smoke, lots of it, which meant a town by my reasoning. My nose was so sensitive that I could smell the animals that populated the forest.

I reached a hilltop at the edge of the forest. Just as I thought I could see a small town by the sea. I only needed to get past this rocky hill to get there. Unfortunately in my rush I forgot that the rain that had come last night had made the cliffs muddy and slippery. I slipped and found myself falling off the side and into the river below.

The shock of the cold water hit me instantly. The current pulled me under even as I tried to fight my way to the surface. I broke through once but the rapids quickly pulled me back under. I could feel the strain of not having air. My vision began to fade and the last thing I saw was a shadow leap into the water.

I woke up in a soft warm bed. I sat up and saw a shelf lined with medicines. A hospital, although I had no idea how I had gotten there.

"You're awake." A voice said. I looked up. It was a young man with chestnut colored hair said. He was gentle and smiling. "Aria pulled you out of the water."

"Where is this?" I asked.

"Alvarna." He told me. I could tell he was trying not to stare but I could tell he had noticed my ears and tail. I kept forgetting that people outside my home had trouble understanding. "Is Aria around?" I asked trying to divert his attention. "Umm," he started, "she lives on the farm just outside of town." I muttered thanks and left before he could say anything. I knew I was in that town I had seen, there was a strong scent of earth and ocean throughout the town.

The farm was small and filled with budding crops. The scent of the soil smelled refreshing and reminded me of the forest around my home. There was a man in the fields, he noticed me and waved me over. He looked up and called to an open room. "Aria, that girl is here!" I heard a muffled response back and a few seconds later the door opened. Aria was a teenage girl, about sixteen who had long brown hair.

"Hello!" She smiled, rushing up to me. "I'm so glad you're okay." She was staring at me.

"You're staring." I flicked my tail.

"I'm sorry." She said. "It's just your tail and ears."

"I'm half monster, my name is Kei. Thanks for saving my life." I told her.

"Where are you from?"

"Umm, I'm from Corseca, it's a very small village in the northeast by the ocean." I told her. She seemed to understand but I doubt she'd heard of it.

"So, are you going to head back?" She asked me. "No." I responded. I hoped she'd drop it there but she didn't. "Why not"

"Because my father is dead." I said quietly. "Can we not talk about this?" I didn't want to remember what happened that day.

Aria seemed to realize I didn't want to talk about it. "I'm sorry Kei. What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." I said. "I've been walking for the last week and a half I think." I tried to remember what happened after my dad's death but I still couldn't.

"Why don't you settle down here?" Aria said. The suggestion shocked me. I had only been concerned with reaching the town not what I would do after.

"Can I really do that?" I asked her.

"Sure." She looked over at the guy in the field. "Dad, is Byron at his home?"

"He should be, it's only three in the afternoon." He walked over to us. "Who is your friend?"

"My name is Kei." I told him. He held his hand out to me and I took it. "I'm Kyle, Aria's dad." He looked at Aria. "What do you want to see Byron about?"

"That small house near the school."

"I should probably come with you if it's about land." He said. They walked me through town and pointed out different places. The hospital, church, a store as well as homes. Byron's house was on the edge of town, he was the mayor. Kyle knocked on the door and entered, beckoning me to follow. Byron's office was small and organized.

"Kyle, Aria, what can I do for you?" He smiled.

"This is Kei," Kyle introduced me, "you remember, the one Aria brought back."

"Of course, the strange girl who nearly drowned. A pleasure to see you okay."

"I'm looking to settle down here. Aria told me there was a house I could use." I told him. He rummaged through a drawer before pulling out a few papers.

"That place by the school." He looked at what was written on the paper. "Yes, it's perfect for a single person. No one's lived in that for years so it might be a little run down and overgrown. I could sell it for twenty thousand gold."

I didn't feel good about that. "I don't have that. My father is dead and my home was destroyed."

"I'm sorry. Perhaps you should stay at the inn for a while."

"Wait." Kyle said to Byron. "Would it be okay if I pay for it?"

"I don't see why not, but are you sure Kyle?" Byron said.

"Definitely." Kyle said. Byron accepted the money and gave me the papers to sign. I was very grateful to him. "Thank you, Kyle. I'll pay you back when I can." I flicked my tail. He shook his head. "Don't mention it. If you really want to pay me back you can lend me a hand once in a while on the farm."

"Well then, everything is in order." Byron said as he looked at the papers. "Kyle, would you mind showing Kei where it is, I'm rather busy." He placed the papers in his drawer and went back to the documents he was looking at before we came in. Kyle ushered me out and led me to the school.

"I built the school almost seventeen years ago so the kids in Alvarna could have somewhere to learn together." Kyle told me. I looked up and it was an impressive building. "What do you teach here?"

"My mom teaches cooking classes in the morning." Aria said. "In the afternoon Barrett teaches crafting and forging, he's really good at it."

"We didn't have a school where I lived. My dad taught me everything." I said. I had only ever lived with my dad. My mom was dead so my dad raised me and taught me everything.

"You're going to like living in Alvarna, Kei." Aria laughed. "It's quiet and lively when we have festivals."

"You're new home." Kyle said as he presented it to me. It wasn't as bad as I had thought. It was a nice house that appeared to be well built. The outside wasn't badly overgrown, removing a few bushes and cleaning up the weeds would make it look nice in no time. But, I hadn't seen the inside yet. I pushed the door open and was surprised. The inside was rather nice. It was small but open and clean. There was a table and a couple chairs located near the fireplace and several shelves for storing things. There was a simple stove and a work area to cook while on the other side there was a sitting chair and a few bookshelves but they were empty. I took the stairs up to the second floor and there were two small rooms, one had a bed and a set of drawers. The other was an almost empty room except it had a small table and a shelf.

"What do you think?" Aria asked me.

"I love it!" My ears pricked up. My tail swished happily behind me. It was certainly small but it was really nice.

"You're going to love living in Alvarna." Kyle told me.

**Review please. I like to read them before I post a new chapter.**


	2. Strangers

I spent the rest of the day getting to know the residents of Alvarna. Most of them had heard about me being brought to the hospital and had been surprised by my ears and tail. I liked Leann and the twins and the parents were nice. I had met Mana, Aria's mother as well as Barrett. Barrett didn't say much to me but I thought his braid was a bit strange. Jake was somewhat of a jerk but he actually was nice.

I went back early to begin cleaning up the front yard. I was trying to pull up the large vine that blocked my view from the window. I began thrashing my tail in frustration as the weed defied my effort to remove it. I heard someone approach from behind. I turned around, it was a boy with blond hair wearing a feathered cap and a cloak. He was holding a hoe and a sickle. I didn't recall seeing him in town.

"Umm, hello." He said with a shy voice.

"Hello." I said, I definitely didn't see him in town. "Who are you?"

"I'm Leonel. Aria thought you could use these so I, uh, brought them over." He held them out for me. I gratefully took them and he was still blushing. "You're ears are very pretty." He said and blushed some more. I blushed slightly as well. "Thank you," I said, "for both." He stayed a while longer before leaving. I watched him go and then went back to getting rid of the vine, using the hoe to get the roots up. The tools made it much easier and I was able to get rid of most of the weeds and trim the bushes. By the time I got done it was starting to get dark. I decided that there wasn't time to get anything else done so I settled down for the night.

The house was warm and welcoming for me. I was prepared to cook some of the vegetables I had bought but as searched I realized I didn't have any pans to cook with so I had to eat them raw. It wasn't that bad but the only vegetable I actually liked raw were carrots, everything else I tolerated if I had to eat it. I was tired, according to Ray I was asleep for two days in the hospital. I still didn't remember what happened after my father died and I didn't dwell on it as I went to bed. It was soft and warm so I curled up and easily went to sleep.

Dawn came early the next morning. As soon as I woke up that morning I felt a sense of unease. It was unusual because the air itself seemed to be filled with the same sense of unease. I didn't eat breakfast because I had eaten my food yesterday. I thought I would go see Kyle and see if he had some work I could do.

I heard him before I saw him, actually I heard the sound of his axe hitting wood. It was early but the few farmers in my town had all began work early in the morning so I figured Kyle would too. He noticed me and waved. "I had a feeling you'd come." He said as I came over. "I told you not to worry about it, I was happy to help you."  
>"I know," I rubbed my arm and had my ears back a little, "but I was hoping you would know a good place to find work. I don't have any money for food."<p>

"So that's it." He rubbed his chin. "I told you not to worry about the house but if you want to help me out with my work I'll pay you." I happily accepted his offer and he told me to take the wood he had chopped to the wood shed around the side of the house. After that he had me weeding the fields, he told me to keep the colored grasses if I wanted because they were great for seasoning and medicines. I threw the weeds into a fertilizer bin by the house and put the colored grasses I found in my bag. The scent of the soil soothed my unease as I worked and I almost forgot about it until I smelled something, something that made my skin crawl.

Blood. It was a strong scent, one that overpowered everything else I smelled.

I flattened my ears back and my tail began to twitch. I looked over at Kyle but he didn't notice anything, he didn't have my nose for scents. He did notice my unease, however, when he looked up to see what I was doing. With my ears flattened and my tail twitching I must have looked pretty frightened.

"Kei," he said rubbing my back, "what's wrong?"

"I smell blood." I told him. He was shocked by it. "It's getting closer, someone's coming." He looked over at the top of the stairs that led down to his farm. I couldn't see anyone but I could hear them, there was a sound of metal hitting metal. Kyle grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the woodshed. "Hide in here." He instructed and I did so without an argument. I could hear them getting closer, it was definitely two of them and I could hear their feet on the steps. A few seconds later I could hear talking.

"Can I help you?" I heard Kyle say to them.

"We're looking for someone, a strange girl with cat ears and a tail." They were looking for me. I had to fight the urge to look and see who they were, I didn't recognize the voices and I was certain they would spot me if I moved.

"Never heard of anything like that." Kyle lied. "I'm certain I would have remembered seeing someone like that."

"Yes, I'm certain you would. This girl is dangerous and it would be best if we captured her quick. I'm certain you'll tell us if you see her." Their scent began to disappear as they got farther and eventually it was far enough away for me to relax. Kyle came back to the shed and told me to stay hidden a while longer, so I stayed hidden for about another hour or so. I heard someone else coming but the scent told me it was Barrett and I relaxed, no doubt he was here to talk with Kyle.

"Did they ask you about her?" Kyle asked him.

"I told them to get lost and that I didn't have time for their games." Barrett said. "Is she here?"

"Yeah, I made her hide. She said she smelled blood on them." Kyle explained.

"Egan said the same thing, something about the sylphs sensing blood. Needless to say, no one likes them and no one told them anything."

"That's good, where are they now?"

"Down at the port, Alicia's pestering them to read their fortunes. They plan on staying in town a few days, I think Kei should stay here until they leave, it's much safer." He said before leaving. Kyle sighed. "Kei, come out." He told me. I was glad to come out, my arms and legs were stiff.

"Thank you, Kyle."

"I don't like those people. I think it would be better if you stayed with us until they left. I don't want them to find you." I nodded in understanding, the sooner those people were gone the better I'd feel, the better the whole town would feel too.

Mana was really nice to me and welcomed me into her home. She showed me how to cook some sweets and other things. I burned the first batch but I did okay with the second one because Aria reminded me to take them out before they burned. Kyle came back a few hours later and he looked agitated.

"Dad, are you okay?" Aria asked as she put the plate of cookies on the table. Kyle didn't say anything, he just made a low grunt and sat down at the table.

"Those thugs threatened me. Said if they found out I was hiding her they'd rough me up." He said. "Luckily Byron's making them leave town, told them they were disturbing the peace and they had to leave tomorrow."

"Dad, did anyone tell them about Kei?" Aria asked. I held my breath. "No." Kyle said and I let it out. "No one liked them, even Ray said he found their demeanor unpleasant."

"So they'll be gone tomorrow?" I asked him.

"Yes, hopefully everything will be better tomorrow once they're gone." Kyle said. Aria let me sleep in her room, she laid out a blanket on the floor for me and a pillow.

"You know Kei, I know what it's like to lose your father." She told me as she lay in bed. "He left one day and no one knew what happened to him."

"But my dad isn't coming back." I told her. "He was killed by the ones who destroyed my hometown."

"Well, maybe you can have a new family here." I didn't respond. I wasn't thinking about finding a family, maybe I didn't even want one. I just wasn't sure what I was doing.


	3. Fishing with Friends

**Kei is a half cat monster so I will make her with some cat like tendencies.**

Those strangers left the next day. It was a relief to see them go but the agitation stayed for several days afterwards. Those strangers had managed to rile everyone up and it would probably take a while before the people of Alvarna were calm again. I was able to go back to my home and continue working with Kyle to make money. It really helped, I was able to start a small garden growing tomatoes and carrots.

One thing I did enjoy were the regular visits from Aria and her friends. Leann was a proper lady who didn't mind getting dirty once in a while. The twins were never apart and spoke together a lot. Orland was stuck up and a bit indifferent but I could tell he cared even if he didn't say anything. Leonel had been around to visit her before, he was shy but a lot of fun to be around.

"What are you going to do today Kei?" Sera asked.

"I was going to go fishing. I like the fish in Messhina Valley" I told them. I was going to catch dinner for the night.

"That sounds like fun." Serena smiled. "We should all go."

"Sounds like fun." Aria laughed. The others went home to get their poles and we met up at the entrance to Messhina Valley. I led them to my favorite fishing spot by the waterfall. It was nice and cool and the spray of water felt good.

"Kei, you don't have a fishing pole." Aria pointed out as she cast her line into the water.

"Don't need one." I told her as I perched on the rock I normally did. The others watched me curiously as I stared into the water. I saw a fish swimming by and I had to resist the urge to lash out. I waited patiently until the fish came by the rock. As soon as it came by I lashed out, I arced my right arm into the water hitting the fish and sending it out of the water and onto the bank. I put it in the basket I had brought and that was that.

"That was cool." Leonel said. "How did you learn to do that?"

"My dad taught me." I told him. "I told you I'm half monster. My dad was a tiger monster, he could take human form but he taught me how to fish."

"I don't think I ever asked how old you were Kei." Aria said. She had never asked me. "I'm fifteen." I told her.

"So am I!" Leonel said. He seemed happy.

"Big deal." Orland scoffed. I noticed he was leaned back against a tree and he didn't bring a fishing pole either.

"Do you not want to fish, Orland?" I asked him. He looked at me and scoffed. "Fishing is boring."

"Want to try it my way?" I challenged. He glared at me for a while. "You're on." He said. I moved to let him sit on the rock. I knew he wouldn't be able to do it, for one thing he wasn't even sitting on the rock properly. When he reached forward to strike the water he ended up falling of the rock and into the water with a scream.

"Nice Orland." Aria laughed. Everyone else laughed with her and so did I. "It's only waist deep." I teased as he dragged himself out of the water. His white tunic and gray pants were soaked. "It's not funny!" He yelled embarrassed.

"He's right, it's not funny." Sera said. "It's hilarious." Serena finished. We all laughed some more. Orland was bright red now, he came over and pushed me into the water.

"Now we're even." He smirked.

"Not quite." I said and grabbed his leg and pulled him back in the water. He splashed around as I pushed him under. I let him go and he came back up gasping and coughing. "Not funny." He said.

"I want to come in too." Aria jumped in sending a splash of cold water over me and Orland. Sera and Serena jumped in after her and the only one left on the bank was Leonel. "Leonel, aren't you coming in?"

"My dad will get mad at me if I come home soaked." Leonel said.

"Barrett's not that strict." Aria said.

"Come on Leonel." I said. He looked at us and took a step into the water. Aria swam up to him and pulled him the rest of the way in. He splashed around in the water with us. It was a lot of fun because I never played like this with the kids that had lived in Corseca, it was so different living in Alvarna.

"I'm glad those guys left before the festival." Leonel said.

"What festival?" I swam up to him.

"The adventure festival." Sera said. "All the participants have to find an item hidden in the places outside of town. Everyone has a different item to find and the three people who find their items the fastest wins."

"Aria usually wins." Serena added.

"It wouldn't have been much fun if those guys had stayed." Leonel told me.

"Speaking of those guys, did you know them?" Orland asked me. He said it like he was accusing me.

"Orland!" Aria yelled.

"No, it's okay." I told her. I tried to remember but I still couldn't remember anything after my dad died. "I didn't see them when they came into town but I didn't recognize the voices. I don't remember what happened to me in between my father dying and waking up in the forest."

Sera screamed. "Something just touched my foot!"

"That was me." Serena said. All of us started laughing and the tension diffused. We all had to get out of the water eventually and get home. It was one of the most fun things I've ever done and I never had friends like that before.

"Today was fun." I told them.

"I agree." Aria smiled warmly. "Maybe we could do this again."

"I guess hanging out with you guys isn't that bad." Orland said. We all said goodbye to each other and headed back to our homes. I looked at the old clock in my house, it said it was a little past five so I prepared the fish I caught and set it over the fire. I enjoyed myself today, perhaps living in Alvarna was a better idea than I thought.


	4. Adventure Festival

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter and the next, hope you enjoy!**

Summer changed to autumn in no time. I had been in Alvarna for almost two weeks and had grown accustomed to the routine of the small town. I met Yue the other day and managed to buy a pan and a couple knives to cook with. There had been no sign of those two men since they left and everyone was happy about it. I was walking with Aria and Leonel to see Barrett.

"Are you ready for the adventure contest tomorrow?" Leonel asked me.

"No. I don't think I really understand it." I told him.

"It's simple." Aria said. "Barrett's running it this year so you have to tell him you want to enter. He'll hide something for each of us and the first person to find their item and bring it back wins."

"That sounds fun!" I said. My ears prick up and my tail flicks back and forth. The three of us register with Barrett and he tells us to meet at nine tomorrow in the town center.

"Do you know who's in this year?" Aria asked Leonel.

"Besides us, Orland and Roy so far." Leonel answered. A brisk wind blew by and sent a chill up my spine. "It gets colder every day." Leonel said.

"Personally, I like autumn." I told them. "Summer's too hot for me."

"Spring is my favorite." Aria said. "I like spring vegetables." She looked at Leonel. "What's your favorite season?"

"Oh, umm," Leonel thought about his answer, "I guess fall is my favorite. I like fall fruits and vegetables." He smiled at me and I felt myself blush, I quickly looked away to hide it.

"Is something wrong Kei?" Aria asked me.

"It's nothing." I quickly said. I couldn't stop myself from feeling nervous. "I'm just really excited for tomorrow." I lied but in truth I was excited for it.

The next day was exciting. Everyone was outside and talking, it was my first time at a festival and I was surprised by how excited everyone was. It wasn't even nine yet and I found Aria and Leonel in the town center. "Hello." I said to them.

"Hey there." They both greeted me. "Did you hear?" Leonel asked me. "Roy was doing something stupid and injured his arm. He won't be able to participate to today."

"What was he doing?" I asked. From what I had seen Roy had a habit of doing a lot of stupid things. "He fell out of a tree yesterday and broke his wrist." Aria said. Of course he fell out of a tree.

"Hey you kids." Douglas walked up to us. "You give it your best effort now, you hear." He said to us in his normal gruff voice.

"We will." Aria smiled. "Good." Douglas said in response before leaving towards the clinic. I heard from Aria that he, Gordon and Natalie all get drunk on festivals. It wasn't long before the four of us that were competing had gathered around Barrett. He handed us each a small piece of paper that had the item we were looking for and the location for us to begin searching. The one he gave me told me to search for a bronze bracelet in Messhina Valley.

"Find your item and bring it back here. The fastest time wins. You may start now." As soon as he finished each of us went to the location given to us. The one who found their item the fastest was the one who won so I hurried to mine.

Messhina Valley was pretty large and there were lots of good places to hide things. I expected to be able to catch Barrett's scent but I could only detect it at the entrance. The farther in I went the more scents I detected. I looked at the paper again but the only thing written was the item and location. I had to trek through underbrush and trees which made for a difficult time because I had to check for the item. I was walking by the cliffs when I picked up Barrett's scent again. It led up the side and to the top of the hill. It was a difficult climb even for me, no doubt why he had chosen it. At the top of the cliff there were less trees but more bushes and small plants. I sniffed the air and picked up his scent leading to a large pile of boulders. I checked around it and found a small opening, my dad told me to always be careful of rock openings because of snakes but there was no snake scent only Barrett's. I reached into the opening and felt something cold, I wrapped my fingers around it and pulled it out. It was the bronze bracelet I had been looking for. I carefully picked my way back down and hurried back to town. I found a much easier path out of the valley and back to town.

"Impressive Kei." Barrett said when I brought him the bracelet. I was the first one back and it had only taken me a little over an hour. "I purposely made yours more difficult because I had a feeling you would find this easier. You beat Aria which is quite surprising."

"I didn't think I was that fast." I said.

"Regardless, we'll wait for the others to come back." An hour later Aria came back with the scarf she found. She was a little upset but surprised by how I did it so it wasn't that bad for her. Soon after her Orland came back and he was none too happy to take third place after having taken second last year according to Aria.

"Leonel's the only one left." Aria said as we waited by the fountain. Another hour past and then another and another.

"He's keeping us waiting." Orland huffed. Aria didn't buy it though and neither did I. "This isn't normal." She said.

"Leonel doesn't seem like the type to get lost." I said. Kyle came by as we were talking. "So who won?" He asked.

"Kei did." Aria hugged him. "But something's wrong, Leonel isn't back yet." Kyle seemed concerned. "It's almost one, where's Barrett?"

"Over here." He said. "I had to talk with my father about borrowing a second boat to go to Blessia Island."

"I'll come with you." Kyle said and Aria volunteered as well. "I'll come to." I said.

"Stay here Kei." Barrett said to me. He was strict but I wasn't going to give in that easily. "I can track his scent and find him." I said.

Barrett looked frustrated. "She's right, Barrett." Kyle said in my defense. Barrett growled. "Fine." He finally said. The four of us boarded the boat and Barrett sailed it to the island in ten minutes. Blessia Island was still warm compared to the rest of the area.

"Leonel is here somewhere. Let's find him." Barrett said. I picked up Leonel's scent immediately and followed it deeper into the island jungle with the others following close behind. His scent led a trail straight through the forest and then I picked up another scent that chilled me. My ears flattened instinctively and I began to tremble.

"Kei, what's wrong?" Aria asked. She tried to touch me but I shrugged her off.

"Blood. It's Leonel's." I said. I didn't want to believe it but there was another scent there. "Leonel never made it past this point. The scent of those two men who were in town is here. I think they may have taken him."


	5. Where's Leonel?

"Blood!" Aria shouted. She looked at the ground I was pointing out and I knew she could see the small amount of blood on the ground. "Is he okay?" She asked.

"It's a small amount I don't think he's injured too badly." I said but I wasn't too sure he was okay either. I hoped he was.

"Kei, are you sure you smell those two men?" Kyle asked me. I was certain and I told him so. "No doubt." I followed their scent away from the path Leonel was headed. I ran, following the scent as far as I could. As we got deeper into the jungle I lost their scent. It was right by an inlet of seawater that I lost it, I couldn't find it anywhere around the area.

"Dammit." I swore. The others caught up with me at the inlet. "I lost it." I told them. Aria and Kyle looked disappointed. I still couldn't tell what Barrett was thinking but I could see a change in his expression. He looked concerned which was only to be expected, Leonel is his son and he's missing.

"It's okay." Kyle put his hand on my back. I still didn't feel better. "Any idea which direction they might've gone?"

"No." I said. "If Leonel were still bleeding I would have a better chance at tracking them."

"That won't be necessary." Barrett said. It was the first time he had spoken since they arrived on the island. "Kyle, can you take Kei to the old ship?"

"Yeah." He said not understanding what he was getting at. "What about you?"

"The ship is the most obvious place to hide. Aria and I will follow behind you." He said.

"You want to see if Kei picks up a scent there." Kyle said.

"It's logical." I said. "If he's there I'll find him."

"Kei, if we go there you'll be exposing yourself to danger, are you sure about this?" I could hear the genuine concern in his voice. Those guys had shown up the day after I arrived in Alvarna looking for me. "Leonel might be in trouble because of me, I want to help him."

"We'll follow a few minutes after you leave." Aria said. Kyle led me toward the other side of the island. The old ship was huge and in surprisingly good condition for being run aground. I had to agree with Barrett it was a good place to hide.

"Careful now." Kyle warned me as we walked up the stairs of an old ruin to reach the ship. "Those men probably still want you." There was nothing unusual about the deck, in fact it didn't look like anybody had been there at all. I had difficulty smelling anything but seawater as we walked around the deck. The wood was old and creaked as we walked meaning the sound of movement wouldn't be much help either.

"Kei! Get down!" Kyle tackled me and sent us sprawling on the deck. I quickly looked over to where we had been standing, an arrow was sticking out of the wood close to where Kyle had been standing. "You okay?" He asked me. I nodded.

"I missed him." A voice came from above us. Both of us looked up and saw a guy standing on an upper level of the deck. Another one came out from behind a pile of barrels.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Kyle yelled at them. I didn't dare leave Kyle's side out of fear.

"I recall you saying you didn't know anything about the half-breed but there she is, clinging to your side." The dark haired blond said. He was the one standing by the barrels.

"You frightened Kei and everyone else in town. Did you really think we'd tell you anything?" Kyle yelled.

"What did you do to Leonel?" I yelled. The guy smirked at me and kicked over one of the barrels. Leonel fell out of it with his hands tied behind his back. I was shocked at how injured he was, the blood on the ground had most likely come from the cut on his arm which was still bleeding slightly.

"Leonel!" I yelled, Kyle had to grip my shoulder to keep me from running toward him. "Leonel, wake up!" He didn't hear me, he was unconscious.

"We're taking Leonel back." Kyle said as he drew his sword. The athletic guy jumped down from the top of the deck and joined his companion.

"You can have him back," the guy said, "in exchange for the half-breed."

"You can't be serious." Kyle growled. He raised his sword and prepared to strike. The blond man lifted Leonel to his feet.

"They don't understand." He said to his companion who laughed harshly. He pulled out a dagger and put it to Leonel's throat. "The half-breed comes with us or you get this one back dead." Barrett and Aria arrived when they said they would but they saw Leonel and realized the situation.

"What do you want with Kei?" Aria demanded.

"It doesn't concern you." The blond said. "What does concern you is that if you don't give us the half-breed then this one dies." He held the dagger closer to Leonel's throat.

"Are you going to kill Kei?" Barrett asked. It was the first time I heard clear concern in his voice. I didn't think he would be concerned about me, it was my life or the life of his son, I thought it would be easy to make.

"No." The athletic man said and I believed him. They had gone through all this trouble to get at me and it seemed like a lot of effort just to kill me.

Leonel began to stir from his unconscious state. "Don't do it." He whispered. "We'll never see her again." I felt like crying, even Leonel was concerned for my safety. I couldn't let them do that.

"Let Leonel go and I'll come." I told them, trying my best to hide the trembling fear I felt. Before anyone could stop me I walked over to them. The athletic man licked his lips as I stood inches away from him.

"You got away last time but this time you're not going anywhere." He told me. I looked over at Leonel and saw his eyes clouded over slightly. I could tell he was sad and it hurt to look him in the eyes. I let them bind my hands with rope until I couldn't move them.

"Kei." Leonel said sadly. The man pushed me to the ground and laughed before stomping on my tail. I screamed loudly, my tail was very sensitive. "Kei!"

"What was that for?" Kyle shouted, visibly angry. The two men just laughed knowing that he couldn't do anything because they had Leonel. I began crying, I hadn't cried once since being in Alvarna but I couldn't stop. My tail was already in pain and he stomped on it again.

"You're making her cry!" Leonel began to struggle against the blond man.

"None of that now." He pressed the blade closer to Leonel's throat. Leonel twisted his shoulder and kicked him in the knee. Kyle and Barrett took the opportunity he created to attack. Kyle lunged at the athletic looking man causing him to back off of me. Barrett had nothing but his fists and gave an incredible right hook to the blond man's jaw. He had him pinned down by his throat. "Come after my son again and see what I do to you." I caught a glimpse of Barrett's face and his expression was threatening, it scared me a little.

"Get out of here!" Kyle ordered. Barrett let the blond go and he and his friend ran. "Come back and you won't be so lucky!" Kyle called after them before helping me. He cut the ropes and asked if I was okay.

"My tail is very sensitive but I think it's okay." I told him. Barrett was helping Leonel and I was surprised at how fatherly he was acting. "Leonel, are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." He looked up at Barrett. "I'm sorry dad. They snuck up on me, I tried to fight but the blond guy, I think the other guy called him Luis, hit me in the back of the head."

"You'll be okay." Barrett said as a faint smile appeared on his face. Aria came out from behind some wooden boxes. She was holding something in a large pouch.

"Check this out." She opened it and pulled out an old book. The book had an emerald green cover with strange writing on it. She opened the book and there was more of the strange writing inside along with diagrams and pictures.

"What is it?" I asked. I had never seen such strange symbols before.

"I remember that." Leonel said. "I saw that book before they knocked me out again. I also remember them saying something about a ceremony or ritual."

"So they left it here, no doubt by accident." Kyle pondered the information. "They'll be back for this and possibly Kei as well." He finally said. Aria put the book back in the bag and Barrett took it from her.

"I'll hold onto this." He said. "I'll see if I can decipher this writing and find out what they want."


	6. Remembering the Past

When we returned everyone wanted to know what happened. Kyle took us to the clinic and Barrett declared the festival cancelled due to the events. I knew it wouldn't take long for everyone to find out what happened. Ray examined both Leonel and I treated our injuries. Leonel ended up with bandages around his arm and head. Ray told me he was fairly certain that my tail was just bruised and sore but he couldn't be sure because in his words, "I've never examined a tail before," he said.

Kyle offered to let me stay at his house that night but I didn't want to live in fear so I told him no. It was late, close to seven at night by the time I returned home. I didn't bother cooking and just ate some fruit I had and climbed into bed. It stormed badly that night and I couldn't get comfortable. The logical part of my mind said that they wouldn't come after me in town after what happened but my instinct told me not to let down my guard. Maybe I would've been better off taking Kyle's offer.

Thunder cracked overhead and I jumped slightly in bed. I don't know how long I was awake before falling asleep but I do know that my nightmare was just as bad as the one I was living.

_ I woke up in the cabin that I used to share with my dad. I got out of my bed and went down to the bottom floor where my dad slept. I peeked out the window and saw the town just as it had been at the base of the hill. It was dark outside and I could see the hundreds of stars that formed the band that went across the sky. I loved that sky, on clear nights when I was little dad and I would sleep outside while he told me stories. I heard sound from behind me so I turned around and saw my dad._

_ "Daddy." I said. He was just like I remembered. He was tall and had a strong muscle tone. His long auburn colored hair matched mine as well as the dark brown ears that I inherited from him. The thing I missed the most about him was his warm and protective presence. "Kei." He said to me. "What are you doing up?"_

_ "I thought I heard something." I told him but I didn't know why I said that. "Daddy, is something going on?" He looked at me and smiled that way he always did when I asked him something._

_ "What do you think, Kei?" He turned the question back at me. "Trust your instincts, they're strong." I thought about it and thought about how I felt when I got up. "I think something is wrong in town." I told him._

_ "So do I. Come with me but stay close." We left our small house and began walking towards town. I wanted to stop but I couldn't. I knew what this was now, a memory, not a dream and if we went down there my dad would never come back. We reached the bottom of the hill and the entrance to town._

_ "What do you smell Kei?" He asked me. I paused and took in the scents of the town._

_ "Just the usual." I told him. He shook his head. "Try again and really focus." I did as he instructed and ignored the scents I knew should be there. As I began to focus I smelled a subtle scent that should never be anywhere. "Blood." I said._

_ Dad nodded. "It's subtle so it doesn't surprise me that you missed it. Once you've noticed a scent, no matter how subtle you should be able to distinguish it from others."_

_ "But dad, why is there blood in town?" I asked him but I already knew. "I don't know but stay close to me." We walked through town and past houses. The town was too quiet, even for the night. There were no birds or other animals running through town. I froze suddenly and my tail began twitching as I took in the scent that now dominated all else._

_ "Kei, stay close to me." Dad growled and I knew he had picked up the same scent I had. We drew closer to the center of town and what awaited us was more than I could handle. "Damn." Dad snarled as he took in the sight before them. Blood everywhere and the residents of the small town dead. I could see the body of my only friend slumped against the wall. I clung to his side as I took in the horrific sight, I could never had guessed this was waiting for us in town. "Kei get down!" Dad pushed me down and shielded me from a barrage of arrows. When it stopped I saw an arrow buried in his arm. "It's not that bad." He assured me as he wiped a tear off my face. "It hit the thick part of my jacket."_

_ "Why aren't they firing again?" I asked. Dad looked over his shoulder. "Five archers. Don't move." He whispered to me. He stood up and put himself as a shield between them and me. "Who are you?" He yelled. More people came out from behind the buildings, six in all and they were all wearing cloaks with a strange symbol on them._

_ "We're here for the half-breed." One of them said. He was blond and held a spear. "Hand her over."_

_ Dad growled at them. "My daughter isn't going anywhere." He cast a spell creating a large pillar of flames that he sent at the archers. They died instantly. "Run Kei." Dad ordered me. He sent another spell that kicked up a lot of dirt and temporarily blinded their attackers before following me._

_ I ran as fast as I could away from the town. Dad caught up to me quickly and ran beside me. "No matter what happens Kei, don't stop running." I heard a loud noise and my dad screamed. I stopped and turned around. There was a spear going through his abdomen and he was on his knees._

_ "Daddy!" I started to run toward him. He growled at me. "Keep running!" His breath was labored but I ignored him and ran to his side. "Daddy!" I hugged him and looked at his wound. "Daddy, please get up!" I whined._

_ "Kei," he lifted his hand and touched my face, "you have to run." Another arrow came out of nowhere and struck him in the back of his head. He fell over on his side and I tried my best to wake him up. His eyes closed slowly and he stopped breathing. "Daddy you can't leave me! You can't die!" I was surrounded by the strange people almost immediately. _

_ They dragged me away and I saw the two guys who attacked Leonel tie my hands and bind my feet with rope. "You'll make a pretty sacrifice." He said to me and the last thing I saw was the color of fire lighting up the night sky above the town._

I woke up drenched in sweat and out of breath. I touched my face and found it covered in tears. The dream had brought back the awful memory of that day. I looked at the clock and saw that it was past eight the next morning. I got dressed and went outside to the well and splashed water on my face. I couldn't believe I had forgotten those two men had captured me. They had said something about a sacrifice but I didn't know what that meant. I had to figure this out quickly or others could get hurt.

**I loved writing Kei's father. About halfway through the dream I felt bad about killing him. Please leave a review, I only have one so far and it would make me happy to know what you think about this story.**


	7. Leonel's Promise

I decided I wouldn't tell anyone about the dream not even Aria and Leonel. I had a feeling everyone in town knew what happened yesterday. Leonel would be walking with a slight limp for a while because he twisted his ankle. I didn't go out that day, I was scared that everyone would look at me and blame me.

I spent a lot of time reading the books I had borrowed from the school. I was in the middle of a story about a banquet with animals when someone knocked on my door. I got up to answer it and saw that it was Leonel.

"Hey Kei." He smiled. "I haven't seen you today."

"I-I thought you wouldn't want to see me today." I confessed. He frowned in response and his brow furrowed slightly.

"Why would you think that?" He asked me.

"You were hurt because of me." I told him. Why didn't he hate me now? "I thought you wouldn't want to be around me anymore."

"Kei, that's not true." He said. "I could tell you things Aria and I did together that got us both hurt. I never hated her for it."

"Oh. Do you want to come in?" I let him come in and gave him some fruit I had sitting in a basket. "Does everyone know what happened yesterday?" I asked.

"It's kind of hard to hide things in a small town." I was scared to hear what was next. "Everyone's pretty shaken up but they do trust my dad and Kyle's judgment."

"I'm surprised they don't hate me." I told him. Memories of my life were fresh in my mind since the dream.

"Kei, why do you think everyone hates you?" Leonel asked me. He had a lot of concern in his eyes and I couldn't understand why the people of Alvarna were so accepting.

"Because everyone in Corseca hated me." I told him. "I'm half monster. My dad was a special kind of monster."

"What do you mean by 'special'?" Leonel asked me. I wasn't sure of the best way to put it. "He's… not like the normal monsters that you would think of, he's not from the Forest of Beginnings, he lives in this world and can change his appearance to look human." I wasn't sure if he understood it but he gave a gesture that indicated he understood.

"So he could make himself look human."

"Yes, but he never looked entirely human he, uh, always had his ears and tail visible." It was true, I never saw my dad without his ears and tail visible. "I'm half monster so I can't hide mine."

"I don't think you should. They're pretty." He said and we both blushed. I thought he liked me. "So, uh, what was your mom like?" He asked me in an attempt to change the subject.

The question caught me off guard and I actually had to think about it. "I never knew her, she died giving birth to me. Dad told me she was the daughter of a farmer from Corseca." When I thought about it I realized that might be the reason everyone hated me.

"That's really sad. I guess you really are an orphan." I lowered my ears slightly. "I'm sorry." He said quickly realizing he may have upset me.

"No, it's okay." I thought about it and decided to tell him about the dream. "I dreamed about it last night," I said to him, "the night my dad was killed." I heard a sharp intake of breath from him. "He was speared by one of them after they slaughtered everyone." I started crying and Leonel put his arm around me. "They killed everyone in town and dumped their bodies in the town square."

"Do you remember what happened after they took you?" He asked me.

"Those two guys that attacked you yesterday, the blond guy, Luis, he killed my dad. I don't remember what happened after they took me but I do remember they said something about a sacrifice."

Leonel seemed startled by that. I was too, sacrifices were never a good thing especially if they were directed at you. I still couldn't wrap my head around what they meant by sacrifice. "Any luck with the book?" I asked him.

"No, dad's been trying to decipher it but it's been less than a day. He'll figure it out eventually."

"That book's the only clue we have so far." I said to him. He nodded and reached into his satchel and I heard the clink of metal.

"Aria wanted me to give you this, for protection." He held out a dagger. I relaxed slightly. I don't know why I got scared, I guess by now it was my natural reaction when I saw a weapon. I took it from him by the handle. It was a simple dagger with a slightly longer blade than normal with a leather sheath.

"Why didn't Aria come?" I asked thinking it was strange that only he came.

"She thought you would want some alone time." He said.

"I kind of wish I had someone to be with right now." I said wistfully. Part of me wanted to be alone but a bigger part of me wanted the comfort of being with another.

"I'm with you." Leonel said. He stroked my hair and ran his hand over my ears, flattening them against my head with each stroke. "Your ears feel like velvet." He whispered. My tail wrapped around his waist as he held me. "I love you, Kei." He said. "I want to know you. Although I get the feeling you're scared to get close to me."

"I am." I told him. "I'm scared if I get close to you something bad will happen to you."

"You have nothing to be afraid of." It sounded like he almost begging. "Dammit, I love you."

I hesitated. Leonel said he loved me and, in truth, I felt the same but I wasn't sure. Everything happening right now, if I said I love you then wouldn't I be putting him in danger, not that he wasn't already. "Kei, don't be scared, please." He whispered into my ear. "I know you think something will happen to anyone you get close to but you can't live your life alone."

"I don't want to lose you." I cried as I said it. "I love you Leonel." I turned around and buried my head in his chest. He lifted my face and made the move to kiss me, our lips met and a rush of emotion overcame me as we broke away. "Promise you won't hate me."

"I promise." He kissed me again.

**What do you think? Leonel and Kei kissed, I've been working on getting this scene right so how did I do**


	8. My name is Aaron

**Please don't kill me. I have no intention of killing Leonel or any of the other characters. Barrett and Leonel are my most favorite characters in RF2.**

Another week passed and there was no sign of the strange people. Aria said it was because of their failed kidnapping attempt. I still couldn't relax knowing that they were still out there and not knowing what they wanted with me. The only bright side to this situation was my relationship with Leonel. In the town of Alvarna news spread quickly. Leonel told Aria, she in turn told the rest of her friends, they told their parents and soon everyone in town knew. Oddly enough they were okay with it and didn't seem bothered by it.

Barrett was the only one who never said anything about our relationship. He was still busy looking at the book that had been found. There wasn't much to be found, it was written in a language that he couldn't read and deciphering it would take a while. Unfortunately there was only so much one could do in town and Kyle had made me promise not to leave town for the time being. So I was stuck in town for the time being.

Leonel never had a shortage of things to do in town and it was even better when Aria or one of the others joined in. I'll admit that some of what we did was childish but it was still entertaining. Sera and Serena were always willing to participate in some game we were playing. Leonel showed me a game where the object was to kick the ball through a small opening called a goal.

The days passed in leisurely succession and even I soon forgot about the trouble. It was on one of these days that I was passing by the gate to town and picked up the scent of blood. I immediately knew I should tell Kyle or someone but it was close, not far out of reach and I thought I could easily get there without encountering trouble.

As soon as I was outside the town I knew it was a bad idea but I kept going. There was something about the scent that was familiar to me. It seemed to be coming from the base of the mountains. As I got closer I could hear yelling.

"Ah, come on. Somebody help." They were yelling. It was a boy that much I could tell. I got closer and saw what was happening. It was a boy, around sixteen with brown hair. I couldn't see what his face looked like because he was somewhat on his back and his head was down as he pulled at something around his ankle. He didn't notice my approach because he was too engrossed in what he was doing.

"Are you okay?" I asked. His head snapped up and I saw he had deep brown eyes. He pulled his hands away from his ankle and I saw that his ankle was coated in blood.

"Umm, I'm not…" he stuttered, "I was walking and I felt something close around my foot. I've been calling for help for almost an hour." I approached carefully because I still wasn't sure if I could trust him. I got a closer look at his ankle and saw a piece of metal digging in around the skin. It looked to be a kind of trap that he triggered by stepping on a pressure plate. "Can you help me?" He asked breaking me out of my thoughts.

"I'm not sure." My hands traced the metal and he winced slightly. The base of the trap was hinged with a pin going through it. I ran my fingers along the hinge and began trying to pull the pin out. It was stuck tight and judging from the sharp hissing it was only causing him more pain. "I don't know what you're doing but can you stop." He said through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry." The metal was still firmly clamped around his ankle. "I don't know what else to do about it." I thought about leaving to get help, Tanya would probably know a way to get it off but then I'd have to listen to someone lecture me about leaving town alone. "I'll get help." I finally told him, they'll find out anyway I reasoned. I didn't wait for him to say anything as I rushed back to town. I managed to get in without being seen but as I ran down the east end Kyle found me.

"Kei, where the hell have you been?" He asked. It was clear from his demeanor that he had been looking for me. "I've been looking for you for over half an hour!" Was I really gone that long?

"Outside town," I continued before he had the chance to start yelling, "There's a boy out there with his foot stuck in some kind of metal trap. I was going to get Tanya to see if she could cut him loose."

"I see." He pondered what I said. "We'll get Tanya but you are still in trouble." I followed close behind Kyle careful to avoid his gaze. We found Tanya hard at work in front of her forge. She was striking a piece of hot metal as we approached.

"Tanya, I hate to disturb you." Kyle began as Tanya put down her work materials. "Kei has something she wants to tell you." Kyle prodded me and I explained the boy caught in the trap. Tanya pondered the information as she stroked the edge of a blade. "Sounds like a bear trap. It's something that comes from the Sechs and can be quite deadly. I don't care for it personally even though it's wonderfully sharp."

"Do you know how to get it off?" I asked eagerly. Tanya moved to her work bench and pulled out a box of tools. She began sifting through them and putting some in a bag. "I'd have to see it first, there are different versions of the trap so I can't say for certain. You'll have to take us there." I nodded and led the way back out through town and to where the boy was waiting. He was still sitting on the ground picking at the trap.

"I don't believe it." Kyle mumbled. He began walking over to the boy. "Aaron!" The boy, Aaron, looked up and recognition spread across his face. "Dad!"

"Dad?" I was confused as Tanya and I approached.

"Sorry Kei." Kyle said. "I thought Aria would have told you. This is Aaron, he's Aria's twin brother. He likes to travel so he leaves town a lot."

"Your name is Kei." Aaron addressed me. I could clearly see the relationship with Aria. "You're kind of strange." I immediately felt self-conscious.

"Aaron, stop moving!" Tanya ordered as she examined the trap. Her hands traced the metal just as I had done. Her fingers found the same pin I did. "I just need to cut the head of this pin so don't move or I might cut you." She reached into her bag or pulled out several strange tools of different shapes, I had to assume she knew what she was doing because I had no idea what she was doing. After what seemed like a while I heard the clink of metal as the metal trap fell away leaving a slightly bigger than expected ring of blood around his ankle. Aaron winced in pain as Kyle touched the area around the wound. "What was a trap like that doing so close to town?" He whined as his dad helped him up. I wondered as well, the trap was located close enough to town that a villager just outside for a walk could have easily become ensnared.

"Well they weren't hunting." Tanya said as she examined the trap. "This trap is designed to, well, trap without causing too much damage. If they were hunting the trap would be designed to kill or maim.

I began thinking about why someone would need traps like that when I came to a sudden and very frightening conclusion. "Me," I whispered so quietly that the others just barely heard me. "Me," I said again loudly, "they wanted to trap me."

Aaron looked thoroughly confused. "Dad, what is she talking about?" He looked up at Kyle. Kyle shook his head. "Not now. Right now we need to get you back to town." He grabbed Aaron and slung his arm over his shoulder, there was no way he was walking with that injury. Kyle looked over at me. "Are they nearby?"

"No, I can't detect them." I told him. I couldn't find their scent anywhere in the area but as we walked I kept a careful vigilance to prevent a possible ambush. We easily made it back to town and Kyle took Aaron to the hospital motioning for me to follow. Natalie was on duty when we arrived and quickly began examining Aaron's wound. She put so much numbing agent on it that he probably wouldn't even know his foot was there if he wasn't looking at it.

"Honestly Kyle, your kids come home with more injuries than any others I've seen." She scolded him. Kyle laughed and I got the feeling this wasn't the first time he had gotten this lecture. "Kei would you mind leaving?" Natalie asked me. I was happy to leave, Aaron was his son and Natalie wanted to talk to him in confidence. Of course, I had no way of knowing what they talked about after I left.

*Kyle's POV*

I watched Kei go, even though she was different she still triggered the same desire in my heart that Aria and Aaron did. The desire to protect her. Natalie took me into her office to talk in private. "How did he get that injury?" She asked breaking me out of my own thoughts.

"A bear trap." I said. "It should never have been that close to town. Kei thinks it was set for her and if that's the case there may be more."

"I see." Natalie muttered. I recognized the pensive look on her face. It was when she was trying to decide the best way to break the news to someone. "Is something wrong with Aaron?" I asked nervously.

"No, Aaron will be fine, it's Kei that concerns me." She said.

"Kei wasn't hurt." I said. I was still going to lecture her about running off on her own again. "She was pretty frightened though."

"I've heard some unsettling rumors lately," she began and I immediately didn't like where this conversation was headed. "Some of us have been talking about Kei and we're concerned about the strange people who are after her."

"Who else?" I asked curtly.

"Douglas, Byron and myself. Jake has also expressed some concern." She said. "That incident with the festival is when it really started, Leonel was hurt and the rest of you could have been killed. We have been discussing whether or not it's really worth protecting Kei. Byron had been willing to overlook the trouble but now with Aaron's injury and the possibility of more traps he might change his mind."

"What do you mean?" I could feel anger bristling within me.

"I mean," her tone grew stern, "with this latest incident, the next time they come Byron will hand Kei over to them."

I lost it. "Are you insane?" I yelled causing Natalie to flinch back. I knew it was unusual for me to get angry but this pushed me over the edge. "He's going to give her to them. She's already terrified as it is, those people killed her father and destroyed her home. We don't even know for certain if the traps were set for her."

"Kyle, please understand," Natalie tried to reason with me, "Kei is one person compared to the lives of everyone else in town including your children. Would you really risk their lives for one persons?"

"One person," I muttered, "Kei is a child, no different than any of ours in that regard. Kei has done nothing wrong except exist, do you want to punish her for that? Could you really sentence a child as gentle as Kei to death?"

"Kyle…" Natalie sighed. I got up and opened the door to leave before turning back to her. "I will not allow Kei to be handed over to them. If it comes to it, I'll fight against the town before handing over a child to die." I slammed the door shut behind me. Aaron was sound asleep in his bed and didn't even know what he had started.

**Aaron was away on his travels which is why he hadn't made an appearance before. Also, I've decided to have Kyle act as a father figure to Kei. Possibly Barrett as well but not as much as Kyle.**


	9. First Date

**This is going to be a much lighter chapter than the last one.**

I should have known better than to think I would get off easily. As soon as we were alone Kyle sat me down and lectured me, well it was more like a firm scolding. It was the same thing I knew he was going to say, I shouldn't have gone out of town, I should've had someone with me, the usual. I knew he cared but I would've been embarrassed if anyone had heard or seen it.

Aaron walked with a limp but his injury wasn't that severe as Leonel put it, "he'll be well enough soon to injure it again." Leonel and I had learned much about each other recently. The only thing that I had been disappointed about was the fact that he was fond of sweets, something that I was no good at making.

Today we were at the general store and he was asking me a stream of questions. "What do you think of this?" He showed me a fabric that was a deep shade of green, it reminded of pine trees.

"I like it but I also like this deep blue color. Why do you need it?" I asked him.

"I've been trying to find something for my mom's birthday." He said. I thought something wasn't adding up. Something else I learned about Leonel was he was very good at crafting accessories, I didn't have the patience for more complicated accessories. "I like having a second opinion." He smiled.

"Always a good thing to have." I agreed. "What do you want to make her?"

"A scarf, but I can't decide on the details." He said looking through some thread.

"I'm not one for details but how about you try personalizing it." I suggested. "Put something on it that makes it hers." He handled the thread with delicate care before deciding on a red color thread. He made me leave while he paid for his materials. I couldn't see what he ended up buying because he had hidden it away in his bag.

"Kei, are you free later tonight?" He asked.

"I am, are you asking me on a date?" His face turned a new shade of red.

"Yeah." He muttered.

"Then yes." I kissed him on the cheek. His face got redder. "Where should I meet you?"

"At the cherry blossom trees around seven." He told me. It was a popular date spot around here. I'd seen cherry trees in full bloom before so I was a little sad that the trees weren't in bloom today.

"I'll see you there." I told him. He smiled and took off in a hurry without saying goodbye. My first date with Leonel, really my first date ever. I was excited by the prospect and I went to see Aria. She was outside helping Kyle with his crops. Aria saw me coming and waved.

"Hey, Kei." Kyle said. He was gathering up corn and tomatoes that were fully grown.

"You look busy." I observed.

"The harvest festival is tomorrow." Aria said. "We have to get ready for it."

"What's that?" I asked. I vaguely remember Leonel talking about it.

"The harvest festival celebrates the blessings of the land. We share the food we grow with everyone in town. It's a lot of work preparing for it."

"Would you like some help?" I offered.

"It's very nice of you to offer but I think we can manage." Kyle said. Judging by the number of different crops he had his work cut out for him and I didn't want to disturb their work. "Did you want something?"

"I can come back later." I said. "I don't want to disturb you."

"Nonsense, what did you want?" He smiled.

"I came to talk with Aria." I said. Aria came over carrying a basket full of carrots and spinach. "I really don't want to disturb you."

"Then we can talk while we work." She said as she handed me a basket. I followed her to the far end of the field where there were yams and potatoes growing. She showed me how to carefully harvest the vegetables as we talked. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Leonel asked me out on a date." I said.

"That's great!" Aria said. "When?"

"Tonight at seven." I said. "The cherry blossom tree." I was excited and couldn't wait.

"That's in a few hours. I hope we're finished with this before then. This would be much easier if Aaron wasn't injured." She sighed.

"How's he doing today?" I asked with a hint of guilt in my voice.

"Better but mom still won't let him up to do anything." Aria huffed. "It's not your fault though, he usually ends up hurting himself." I got the feeling she ends up doing a lot of work when he gets injured. We continued talking as we filled up the baskets it took us about three hours to get what was needed from the fields. Kyle seemed happy with the amount of work we got done. I was covered in dirt by the time we left. It was five so I had two hours before I had to meet Leonel. My first stop was at the bathhouse so I could wash off the dirt.

Cammy was in charge of the bathhouse and I didn't know her that well but she was still friendly as I came in. The water was warm and welcoming. I stripped down and gently lowered myself into the water. The dirt washed off fairly easy and the only thing I had trouble with was my tail. The water was very warm compared to the outside air and I was reluctant to leave it after half an hour. I used the towel to dry myself off before changing into the dry clothes I had brought with me. I ended up at the meeting place a half hour early after packing something for us to eat. When I got there I was surprised to find Leonel there as well.

"Hey there." He smiled as I sat next to him on the bench. "I finished early so I came here early."

"Same here." I smiled.

"Kei, can you do me a favor? I want you to close your eyes." He said. I was confused but I did as he asked. I felt him on my tail, tying something on it and then I felt something soft drape around my neck. "Open them." He whispered.

I opened my eyes and looked down I gasped. It was a beautiful scarf made from the dark blue fabric we saw in the store. I took it off to look at it. It was definitely the same blue fabric and at one of the ends my name was embroidered onto it with white thread with a little fish beneath my name.

"Leonel, I thought you said you were making this for your mom." I gasped.

"I lied, I had to get your opinion on fabric and detail somehow without making you suspicious." He laughed. It worked too, I never suspected he was making something for me. "Look at your tail." He said. I did as he said and I gasped again. It was a beautifully designed bow made of the same blue material. In the center of the bow was a beautiful crystal set into a steel clasp.

"Did you make this?" I asked.

"Yep." He smiled brightly. "I found that clear quartz crystal deep in Messhina Valley a couple years ago. Tanya polished and set it for me."

"I love it!" I said.

"And if you want my opinion, you look adorable with it." He said. It was my turn to blush, he had put so much effort into his gift and the only thing I had was homemade food.

"It's not much but I brought some of my food." I pulled some fresh cooked fish out of the basket.

"Well, I love how you cook fish." He said as he unwrapped the fish. We shared a brief kiss before eating my prepared dinner.


	10. Decisions Made

The harvest festival wasn't as big as I thought it would be. Kyle and Aria shared their harvest with everyone in town but that was the full extent of the festival. It was more of a day for relaxing to celebrate the hard work everyone had done over the growing seasons.

I was sitting around the fountain with the other kids. Leonel had Yuri on his lap. Yuri was a cute five year old who giggled a lot and was currently trying to grab my tail. I wore the scarf and ribbon that Leonel had made for me and everyone said I looked cute. Aaron was sitting with us, his foot was feeling much better today.

"I love the harvest festival." Leann said. "Everyone in town gets together and share the blessings of the land."

"It's just a silly festival." Orland said but I could see that he was interested as well.

"I think it's great that everyone can get along in this town." I said.

"Kei, did you have a harvest festival at your home?"

"Not like this one." I said. "During our harvest festival everyone in town would contribute food for a feast at the end of the day."

"That sounds fun." Leonel said.

"Everyone has off work today so we can do what we want for the rest of the day." Leann said.

"We can play soccer." Everyone agreed. I liked soccer since they first showed me how to play. We had to play in the field at the entrance to town but it was open with a lot of room to run. We divided into teams of three except for Leann, who didn't want to run around in her dress. It was a fun game with Aria scoring the first goal against my team. Yuri sat with Leann and smiled and cheered throughout the game. The game was proceeding well until Orland kicked the ball to hard and it went past the small fence that marked the town's boundary.

"Orland go get it!" Aria ordered. Orland huffed but before he could move the ball was thrown back. Aria picked it up and we turned to the interest. There was a man there but we couldn't see his face due to him having his cowl up.

"Thank you." Aria responded shakily. She was nervous, I didn't blame her. He raised his hands and removed his hood. When the hood fell back we realized it wasn't a man but a young woman, in her early twenties no doubt, with shoulder length red hair.

"I'm sorry if I startled you." She said. "I'm looking for the local inn. I've been travelling a while now and I'm tired."

"The square is just past here. Make a right once you get there." Orland explained. It was the nicest I'd seen him act towards a visitor. The woman thanked us and left. No one felt like continuing the game after that.

"That was weird." Aria said.

"I agree." Leonel said. "Kei, did she look familiar?"

"No." I sighed. "I've never seen her before." The woman didn't seem like the others and she lacked the distinctive blood scent that the other two had. I still couldn't be sure but my instincts were telling me that she wasn't dangerous.

"I wish those people would just leave you alone." Leann said to me. The others nodded in agreement and I felt better.

The rest of the townspeople spent the day relaxing and talking. I was relaxing on a patch of grass in the autumn sun, the day couldn't be more perfect, just enough sunlight with a light, crisp breeze.

It was perfect. So perfect in fact that I didn't even hear him or pick up his scent as he got closer.

"Hey there." Leonel said and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around and saw him laughing.

"I didn't think it was possible for me to startle you." He said.

"You caught me in one my rare, fully relaxed states." I explained. "You probably could have driven a tank by and I wouldn't have noticed."

"Anyway, dad's looking for you." Leonel said. Barrett must have vanished as soon as the festival ended. "He's at the school." Probably still looking at the book, I thought.

"Thanks Leonel." I knew Barrett didn't like being kept waiting so I rushed off to the school. I had never been inside the school but I knew something was wrong. The entrance was open slightly. I slipped in easily and heard sound coming from the left of the hallway.

"…Book…Give it to us…die." I couldn't make out anything more. I couldn't recognize the voice but it was definitely male.

"Try it." That voice I definitely recognized.

It was Barrett.

I crept carefully to the entrance of the room where I heard the voices coming from. The door was open, I assumed it was the library. I could see them clearly from my hiding spot behind a shelf. Two of them, and although I couldn't remember ever seeing them I knew they weren't friendly. A third man, much bulkier than the other two men had Barrett in a very compromising position. He was pinned under the guy's boot on his back, the other two had swords pointed at his chest and throat. Any sudden movement would see him skewered instantly. Papers littered the ground beneath him suggesting he had been surprised.

"We don't even want the little half breed right now." The man towered over Barrett. "Give us what you took and we'll let you live."

"Kill me and you'll spend hours looking for it yourself. Of course, by then others will know you're here." Barrett countered earning a cut on his cheek. I let out a sharp gasp that, unfortunately for me, they heard. I closed my eyes as the footsteps got closer and then someone grabbed me by the back of my shirt. "Look at what we have here." He dragged me out from behind the shelf.

"Let her go." Barrett said. The big guy smirked and took his boot off of Barrett's chest but he still had a sword pointed at his throat. The guy who held me pushed me down onto my knees. I saw the guy take his sword away from Barrett's throat and allow him to sit up.

"I believe you were just about to give us the book." The guy stroked my head as he talked.

"Are you going to kill Kei now? She seems important to whatever you're planning." Barrett said.

"Why would we do that? It's like you said, she's very important." He continued to stroke me. It was a deliberate action, almost demeaning in nature. He was probably doing it to see whether or not he could get Barrett riled up. The action stopped and he gripped one of my ears and pulled it. I felt cold metal placed against my head. "However, needing her alive does not mean we can't torment the little thing. She's pretty cute right now, I wonder how cute she'd look if we put a little nick in one of these ears or cut them off."

"Stop!" Barrett yelled. I opened my eyes and looked at him. I saw panic on his face. "It's on the far left shelf in the back."

"Go get it." He ordered the other two and they left to go search. "Now then, was that so difficult?" He let go of me and I moved over to Barrett. "Why?" Barrett asked.

"I told you, we're not interested in the girl right now. Poor Luis and Henry are still licking their wounds from last time." He laughed. Henry must have been the other one on Blessia Island. "I highly doubt the girl is going to be in town much longer anyway, especially once they learn about this."

"How do you know about that?" Barrett demanded.

"It doesn't concern you." The two came back with the book. He took the book back from them and flipped through it. "Perfect." He made a motion and the two guys flanked us. They held my head and forced me to swallow a white pill. I saw them forcibly open Barrett's mouth and shove the pill in.

"What was that?" I demanded.

"Just a little something to knock you out for a while." He said. I wanted to fight him but I started to feel drowsy and my vision was fading. I saw them leave before finally losing consciousness.

I woke up to rough shaking and someone with a very loud voice. "Kei, get up! Barrett!" The voice said. I blinked open my eyes and saw Kyle bent over me. His face turned from worry to a relieved smile. "Kei." He helped me up. I looked over and saw that Barrett was still asleep, and snoring at that. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I-I'm fine." I stuttered. He hugged me tight. I heard Barrett groan and he woke up. "I'm going to kill them." He muttered and I laughed quietly.

"Barrett." Kyle's voice had a warning tone. "Byron's not going to like this."

"I know." He said. "He's going to take her now."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. One of them had mentioned something similar.

"Kei." Kyle looked at me. "I was hoping you wouldn't find out about this. The townspeople are concerned about the recent trouble. Barrett and I have managed to keep it away so far but Byron decided that if there was another incident directly related to you," Kyle paused, "he would hand you over to them."

"He's going to let them take me?" I muttered to myself. Kyle held me close and I buried my head in his chest.

"My father will probably keep you confined to your home until they came." Barrett told me. "The people in town are frightened by those strangers. I can't condone my father's decision but I understand it. Let's get you home Kei." They both took me home and made sure it was safe before leaving. Before he left Barrett turned to me. "Unfortunately, I have to tell my father what happened. Make your decision before tomorrow morning." He said before leaving.

It was late, six at night the clock said. I wasn't tired, I probably couldn't sleep if I wanted to. Kyle and Barrett were trying so hard to protect me but it wasn't working. Byron will put me on lockdown until they come back and then he'd hand me over to ensure the violence stops. I thought about what Barrett said and realized there was another way for the people in Alvarna to live in peace.

I was going to leave.

The thought frightened me, being alone outside the town made me an easy target. The town, though in danger, provided more protection. For some reason they were afraid to directly attack the town like last time. If I left now the town and its people would not meet the same fate as Corseca.

I grabbed my pack and began putting stuff in it. I packed a set of winter clothes and another set of regular clothes. I got some basic supplies such as rope, flint and bandages. I filled the remaining space with the vegetables Kyle had given me. Lastly, I picked up the belt knife Aria had given me and fastened the sheath to my belt. It was eight by the time I was fully ready to leave. I took one last look around the place I had called home for almost two months before walking out the door. The night air was cold and it would only get colder as the days passed. I wasn't even sure where I was going but I knew I couldn't endanger the people of Alvarna anymore.

I got to the entrance of town and was surprised to see the others waiting for me. Leonel, Aria, Sera and Serena, Leann even Orland was there. Leann, Sera and Serena were wearing clothes made for travelling. All of them were carrying packs. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Leonel tipped us off that you might be leaving." Aria said. "We're coming with you."

"You're not coming with me!" I yelled at them. "You could get killed!"

"You can't exactly stop us." Orland said. "We'll just follow you."

"Do your parents know about this?" I demanded. All of them had guilty expressions.

"No." Aria and Leonel said. "None of our parents know we're here." Aria said.

"We know what's going to happen to you if you stay." Sera said.

"We don't want that to happen." Serena added. She and Sera were wearing travelling clothes.

I couldn't believe they cared enough to join me but part of me was glad they did. "I can't let anything bad happen to you or anyone else in town. That's why I'm leaving."

"Where do you think you're going without this?" Orland threw what he was holding at me and I caught it. I looked it over and saw that it was a sleeping bag. I didn't have one, he must have known. "We're going to make sure you come back, cat ears." He smirked slightly when he said it.

"We want you to live in Alvarna. It's no fun when friends move away." Leann smiled. She handed me a paper that I recognized as a map.

"You guys are good friends." I told them with tears streaming down my cheeks. We set off together, I had given up trying to convince them otherwise but I was unsure of what I was leading them into.

**I was originally going to have just Leonel and Aria leave but I decided to have all the kids leave. You'll see why in the next chapter.**


	11. Morning Discovery

We walked for quite a while. I had no idea where we were going, I was tracing the path that I had taken to arrive in Alvarna. The path led though the mountains, it was very chilly during the day and even more so at night. The full moon was high into the sky by now.

"Kei, where are we going?" Aria asked.

"I don't know. I'm tracing my steps from when I arrived in Alvarna." I told them.

"Don't you think we should rest?" Leonel asked.

"Yes, that would be wise." I thought. The mountains were not the best placed to travel at night. It took a while to find a suitable place to sleep. I still wasn't sure whether or not we were being followed so the place we found was sheltered and out of sight. Everyone settled down in their sleeping bags for the night. I still didn't know where we were going, I knew I had to decide that before long.

Morning came early and I was reluctant to get up. It was cold and I still didn't really know where we were going. The others were already packing up and eager to get moving. The only thing I could think of was to head back to Corseca.

"Kei, what are we going to do?" Leann asked. Everyone looked at me and I felt unsure.

"We're going to Corseca." I told them. "My only problem is I don't know which direction it is. I still can't remember that week after the attack."

"If that's where you're going we'll find it." Leann said. She found the map she had given to me and unfolded it. She pointed to where Alvarna was marked on the map. "Do you know what the terrain was like?"

"It was located near the ocean and it was very hilly and surrounded by forest." I watched Leann trace her finger along the coast and stopped at an area located to the north. "This area is marked by hills and surrounded by forests and it's clearly on the coastline." I had to hand it to Leann, she could certainly read a map better than I ever could. "It'll take us about a week to reach the area."

Everyone nodded in agreement as we decided on our course of action.

*Kyle's POV*

I woke up early the next morning. I could smell food cooking which meant Mana was already up. Aria's door was closed, she was probably still sleeping and I felt no need to wake her up. Mana was downstairs cooking on the stove, I gave her a kiss before I sat down to eat the breakfast she made for me.

"I heard about Kei." Mana said. "I don't think it's fair to her."

"I know," I said, "but there's nothing I can do right now. I'm hoping Barrett will be able to talk sense into his father before they come back." I finished my breakfast and excused myself to begin work. Farming was very relaxing for me and often eased my stress and gave me time to think which happened to be a bad thing today.

I couldn't stop thinking about Kei. She was probably still asleep right now in her bed. I still couldn't believe the people who were actually supporting this. Douglas, Gordon, Natalie and the entire Saint-Coquille family with the exception of Ray. I knew Jake was concerned for Orland's safety and wanted something done but I was surprised to learn that he didn't support the idea. Kei will wake up and Byron will tell her his decision which would be the equivalent of a death sentence for her.

I heard the door slam open and Mana came striding out in a panic. "Aria's gone!" She cried.

"What?" I said shocked. How could Aria be gone and what about Aaron?

"I checked on her in her room and the only thing in her bed was a pile of blankets." Mana sobbed. I grabbed her and held her close. "Her pack and sleeping bag are gone."

"I'll find out what happened." I told her. My first thought was to go to Kei's house, she might have an idea where Aria went. It was still early in the morning so she probably wasn't up but I banged on her door. I knew she could hear me but she didn't answer. I knocked again but she didn't answer so I checked her door. It was open.

I let myself in and saw nothing out of the ordinary from last night. "Kei!" I called but she didn't answer. I walked up to the second floor and knocked on her door. She didn't answer and as I knocked the door opened slightly. I pushed it open and the room was empty. There was no evidence Kei had even been there at all last night.

"Leonel." I muttered. I left Kei's house and went to see Barrett. Kei and Aria were gone and I had to find out if he was gone. Arriving at his house I saw Barrett standing outside and looking around.

"Leonel's gone, his pack and sleeping bag as well." He said as I approached. "And judging by your expression Aria and Kei are gone as well."

"You don't seem concerned." I yelled. "They could be in danger. They could have been kidnapped." Barrett's usual lack of facial expressions made my anger worse. How could he not care about the safety of his own son?

"I saw Leonel leave last night. He snuck out the window, probably thought no one saw." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Why didn't you stop him?" I demanded. Barrett looked at me without much concern. Not that his expression really ever changed.

"Leonel is old enough to make his own decisions." He finally said. "I told Kei to make a decision last night in regard to her fate. She chose to leave, Aria and Leonel went with her. I bet the other kids are in on it as well or know something about it."

"Even so." I muttered. It was hard to believe that Kei would just up and leave without saying anything. Aria was stubborn, once she decided on something it was almost impossible to change her mind. Leonel would probably stay with Kei no matter what she did.

"Kyle, would you rather Kei be locked in her home waiting for the day when they come for her?" Barrett asked.

"So you think we shouldn't do anything." I said. The idea of being those three being alone made me nervous.

"I never said that." Barrett said. "I still have the translations I made on the book. They're not complete but we might find something important."

"I hope you're right." I sighed shaking my head. "I hope you're right."

Everyone in town knew that Kei was gone and there was panic. All the children had left except Aaron, and Aaron only stayed because he was still injured. The panic was so great that Byron had to hold an emergency town meeting.

"We have to bring them back." Jake said. "This is out of hand. Orland just up and left without saying anything. It's all well and good if Kei wants to leave but she dragged our kids into this nonsense."

"I agree." Julia steamed. "This girl is going to get our children killed."

"They left on their own." Barrett said. Everyone looked at him. "They're old enough to make their own decisions." That just seemed to enrage everyone. I couldn't believe that they were still blaming her for everything happening.

"Everyone, settle down." Byron ordered. The arguing ceased. "Barrett, did you know what they were going to do?"

"I told Leonel that Kei was probably leaving yesterday. He decided to go with her." Barrett admitted. "Leonel is old enough to make his own decisions, something I've made clear to him." The tension between Barrett and his father had lessened over the years but looking at them now it appeared it had never left.

I stepped forward hoping to diffuse the situation. "Kei left on her own without saying anything. I talked with Aaron, the kids found out she was leaving and planned on going with her."

"Kyle, do you know where they might have gone?" Ray asked.

"No. I doubt Kei knew where she was going." I said. I turned and addressed everyone else. "Kei is frightened. She wanted safety and a home but she only found a part of that here. I understand the fear you have for your families, I share it myself, but giving Kei to them won't solve the problem. They'll kill her, our children knew that better than most of us. They care about what happens to her and that's something we could learn from." I finished speaking and waited to see if they would understand.

"He's right. Why should a half monster be any different than a half elf?" Cecelia said. I had always known she supported Kei. Jake's expression seemed to soften somewhat as Cecelia expressed her opinion.

"Kei left because she was scared for our safety as well." Ray pointed out. "I heard her say that more than once." Everyone in town had an opinion and expressed it. Douglas and Gordon still thought we should try to bring them back but most agreed that it was best to believe that the children were safe. With some of the anger and concern abated everyone left the meeting and tried to return to a sense of normality. I still wasn't comfortable just sitting around and waiting for things to sort themselves out like Byron suggested.

"Lend me a hand with the translations I have." He said. I knew Barrett had copied pages of the book in the original writing in order to decipher it.

"What good will it do now, they have the book." I told him. Barrett shook his head. "They wanted that book more than they wanted Kei yesterday. There is something important written in that book and we need to find out what it is."

"Yes, we need to put an end to this once and for all." I said. Barrett nodded in agreement and we went to go look at the translations. I knew Kei would be fine, she had some very good friends watching her back this time.

**I post these chapters when I finish them. So I can post anywhere from one to three chapters a week depending on whether or not my inspiration is there. I will always try to post a chapter a week but I never post on weekends. Please leave reviews if you're reading. I get depressed if I don't see them.**


	12. Corseca

**My disclaimer since I can't remember if I put one in before. I own nothing in this story except OC's and the plotline.**

We had been walking for almost a week since leaving Alvarna. We were traveling along the coast to reach Corseca and had encountered nothing in the way of danger. If those people were watching the town like I thought they were then they should have stopped us before we got this far. I had to give the others this, they didn't complain once about the journey. Sera and Serena were always smiling and trying to make everyone smile. Leann never complained either and Orland was silent for most of the time.

"I know this place." I stopped them as they were walking. I recognized a large rock that I used to play on with my dad. It wasn't that far from Corseca, only a few miles. "We're almost there."

"Kei, what are you going to do when we get there?" Orland asked me.

"I don't know," I admitted, "but this is where it all started."

I rushed through the forest with the others close behind. I recognized everything in this area. I reached the break in the tree lines and reached the top of the hill that overlooked the small town. I gasped in shock at what I saw. The others came up behind me and joined me at the top of the hill.

"Damn." I heard Leonel say behind me.

There was nothing left of the town. Charred stone was all that remained, anything wooden had been reduced to ashes. Rain had washed away most of the ash and the only thing visible was the charred ground where the buildings had stood.

"This is Corseca?" Leann gasped.

"There's nothing left." Orland stated. I couldn't believe it. Nothing left of my hometown and then I remembered all the villagers who were killed, their bodies consumed by the fire that destroyed the town.

"We're sorry Kei." Sera and Serena said. I had to suppress my emotions before I could respond.

"It's okay." I said. "Part of me may have already known that there wasn't anything left." I began descending the hill. "Come on." I told them.

"Kei, where are we going?" Aria asked as they hurried to catch up.

"My home." I said. "It's on the other side of the hill." At least I hoped it was. It's possible they destroyed it along with the town although the fire was likely set to dispose of the bodies. Walking through the remains of the town I could still remember where everything had stood. I could look at the place where the store had stood and remember the times I had been there. I could remember where old man Rib had lived and from the hill I could see the remains of the dock house where Andy had worked on his fishing boat.

"Kei, are you okay? You're crying." Leann said. I looked up and realized I was crying. The memories must have started it.

"I'm fine it's just I grew up here and seeing it like this…" I trailed off.

"Do you think they would have eventually done this to Alvarna?" Leann asked fearfully.

"I can't say. If they got desperate enough it's possible they would have killed everyone and burned the town." I told her. Lean gasped and seemed to tremble a bit.

"I can understand why our parents were scared of you." Orland said. I nodded. I was surprised to see that not only was my home still standing it looked the same as I had left it that night. Ivy had begun to grow on the house but the house looked to still be in a remarkably good state. I pushed the door open and let everyone in. Everything in the house was where it was the day we left, my night clothes still lay in the spot where I took them off that night.

"This is where you lived, Kei?" Leonel asked. He was looking around the house with everyone else. It felt strange to be back here after so long. I opened the door to my father's room and found everything like he had left it. The only difference was the small chest he normally kept hidden in his closet was on the table. I could still smell my dad's scent in the room which means he may have been looking at it that night. I picked it up and opened it. There were papers inside, all hand written by my father and written in a different language.

"Kei, what are you doing?" Leonel asked me. I showed him the papers and he seemed confused. Judging by the look on his face he didn't recognize it either. Orland came up behind me and took the paper. He looked it over, his lips moving to words as he read it.

"It's elven." He said to us. I didn't know my father could read elven. "They appear to be hand written notes. Your name appears several times in this one." He asked to see the other papers and I handed the box to him. He picked up several other papers and read them. "These are all written in elven." He said. "They're all dated. The last one is dated two months ago."

"What do they say?" I asked eagerly.

"_There is no hope of reasoning with them."_ Orland read. _"The villagers say they stand with us but I cannot allow them to put themselves in harm's way anymore than they already have. Kei and I will leave tomorrow, I cannot allow the Horizon to perform the ceremony with my daughter. Kei will be safer away from the town, she has been ostracized by the people for a long time but one day I hope to tell her that people didn't hate her, they hated me."_ He finished and put the paper down. "It appears to be a form of journal your dad kept."

"Kei, what is Horizon?" Aria asked. "It sounds like a name."

"I don't know, my dad never mentioned anything like that." I said. Dad had written a lot of things that I didn't know about, apparently. The note mentioned that the people hated him and not me but I didn't understand. "Can you read the others?"

"I can translate them for you." Orland offered. "This stuff seems pretty personal."

"I'd appreciate it. Thank you, Orland." He shrugged like it was nothing but I could tell he was happy to help. I left them down there and went upstairs to my room. I opened the door and everything was still where I had left it that night. My blanket lay at the foot of the bed where I had left it that night. The trunk at the foot of my bed had my clothes in it.

I sighed as I sat down on the bed. Everything in my home felt like it belonged to a different time. So much had happened that day and I still didn't understand what it meant. Who were those people? What was this Horizon my dad wrote about? Why couldn't I remember that week after the attack? So many questions and everything we learned just seemed to lead to more questions. Leonel stood in the door and knocked to get my attention.

"You okay?" He asked with a sad expression.

"I don't know." I said as he sat down next to me. "I miss my dad. I still don't want to admit he's gone." Leonel put his arm around my shoulder and held me close.

"I can't say I know how you feel," he began, "but if anything happened to my dad I don't know what I'd do."

"He almost did die. At the school." I told him.

"He didn't though." Leonel told me. "I don't think my dad would get himself killed liked that."

"I hope you're right Leonel." I whispered. "I don't know if I could live with myself if someone else died for me."

"Let's hope we don't have to deal with that any time soon." He smiled. That ever present smile of his, I couldn't understand how he did it. He was always smiling and it made me feel better. I could only wait until Orland translated the papers. I don't know why but my dad had known something about what was going on and the information was probably written in those papers. Thinking back on it I remembered my dad didn't want me to learn how to read elven and it might have had something to do with the papers. Sera and Serena sleeping on the ground by the fireplace with Leann who was reading a book. Aria was watching Orland work and Leonel and I were both too tired to do anything the rest of the day. I don't even remember falling asleep.

**Someone asked me how I got my names. Corseca is the name of a spear in RF4 and one of my favorites for its appearance and Horizon is the name of a special move in Bravely Default (most frustrating game ever). So, yeah, they're pretty much all weapons.**


	13. Memory of Flames

**Chances are I'll probably tell most of Kei's traumatic past through her dreams. Please R&R.**

I dreamed again that night. Or was it a memory? It was too hazy to tell.

_I didn't really understand what was going on, I had stopped thinking as soon as the town was set ablaze. I was tired, exhausted and covered in blood and dirt from them dragging me on the ground. I didn't know how long they dragged me and I didn't really register the scenery around me. They dragged me into some kind of camp and set me down._

_ "What the hell did you do to her?" I heard someone yell. "She's covered in blood and dirt. She had better be alive."_

_ "She's fine. Not our fault she collapsed and wouldn't move." Luis said. _

_ "Clean her up at the river." Someone ordered. Rough hands grabbed me and dragged me the short distance from the camp to the river. I was stripped of my clothes and roughly shoved into the water as the blood and dirt was scrubbed away. I shivered from the water and their touch on my skin. Once I was clean they pulled me from the water and put me in dry clothes._

_ "Better." One of them said. "Restrain her."_

_The hands were back, cold iron chains clamped around my wrists binding them and my legs. A collar, heavy and cold locked around my neck. I didn't have the strength to fight it and I wasn't sure I wanted to. My home was gone, my father was dead and even if I could get away I wouldn't survive on my own without any knowledge of the area. I was still stuck in that moment as I watched the town go up in flames. And I knew one thing for certain._

_ I wanted my dad. I couldn't stop the tears that began to form and fall down my cheeks. My dad would survive the wound to his stomach, he wasn't human after all and I saw that the arrow shot into his head hadn't dug in too deep. He would have lived even with the massive scar but there was no way he could escape on his own before being consumed by the fire. _

_ "Her father?" Someone asked._

_ "Good as dead." Luis smirked. I kept my head down and stared at the ground. Dad._

_ "You're certain?" This guy didn't seem too convinced. "His kind are rather difficult to kill. They can survive wounds that would kill a human."_

_ "He took a spear to the abdomen, courtesy of Elysa and an arrow to the back of the head. Granted the arrow didn't exactly pierce his skull but he won't survive the fire in his state. We've got the girl so relax a bit."_

_ "Maybe I will, once we're back at base. You know what to do with her."_

_As they roughly handled me back onto what I thought was a wagon my mouth was forced open and something was placed in. A pill? They held my mouth shut until I swallowed. I was having difficulty concentrating, my hearing and sense of smell were dulled and the only thing I could recognize was the feeling of cold metal as I was forced into a small cage. The voices became gargled and twisted as I began to lose consciousness. After that part was when events became hazy. I couldn't tell if it was hours or days passing but after that I vaguely heard a loud sound that disturbed my sleep in the cage. It was loud and distorted due to my drug induced state but what happened afterwards was not. I couldn't fully understand what happened but there was a fire and I somehow ended up in the river._

. I woke up with a start, my hand struck Leonel as I struggled to remember where I was. I managed to calm down and get my bearings. I was still in bed, Leonel and I had fallen asleep together.

"Kei." Leonel said softly rubbing my back. "You okay?" He looked at me with a worried expression.

"Another dream." I said as I panted. A lot of it was hazy but I could make out what happened and I began crying. Loudly.

"K-Kei." Leonel stuttered. He held me close and stroked my head. "Please stop crying. Tell me what happened."

"I dreamed last night. I remember what happened after my father was killed." I told him. He looked at me with eagerness as if waiting to hear it. "Damn it." I muttered and began shaking in his arms. I buried my head in his chest. "They put chains and a collar on me. They put me in a cage and drugged me that's why I couldn't remember anything."

"Do you mean that week you couldn't remember?" I nodded and he held me tighter as he nuzzled his face in my hair.

"They know about my father. He had to know something about this and he didn't tell me." I cried.

"You'll be fine Kei." Leonel said. "Everyone here is working hard to help you. When Orland is finished with the translations we'll know what you're father knew. It's still dark outside, why don't you get some rest." I rested against his chest as I tried to calm myself. His heartbeat calmed me and I drifted off into a dreamless sleep for a few more hours. When I woke up after dawn I found Leonel had gone, probably downstairs eating because I could smell food.

Everyone was awake and eating food at the table. It smelled good and my stomach began growling. There was a bowl waiting for me and it was warm and delicious.

"Rough night." Aria said to me. "Leonel told us." Of course he did.

"Bad dream." I said. "Or should I say bad memory."

"You know Kei," Orland said finishing his bowl, "Half elves get things pretty rough in some places. We're not exactly accepted everywhere, especially in places like the Sechs."

"I am…aware of that." I told him. "I went to other places besides Corseca and I use to get some strange looks in different places."

"This conversation is depressing." Sera said.

"Can we talk about something else?" Serena said.

"Okay." Orland picked up a small stack of papers. "I finished translating these papers. Most of them were easy, others, well, you'll see what I mean." He handed them to me and I read them. Most of the papers were like journal entries written by my father. When I saw the other papers I got slightly irritated.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I said accusingly. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Your dad is definitely trying to hide something. He used a double code in his writing." Orland explained. "For the journal entries he used the actual elven language, for the ones written in code he used the elven alphabet to write. Whatever you're looking for is probably in those papers."

I was confused as to what my dad was trying to hide. He had never hidden secrets from me before and now I found out he was hiding something important about me from me. I went back through the papers and found something interesting.

"Listen to this." I got their attention. _"It's been almost seven years since I had last spoken with Lady Irisa. It's good to know she's doing fine after all these years. She asked about Kei and I was glad to tell her that she was doing fine. Irisa expressed concern over a bad rumor she's been hearing. Horizon, a strange group that has been researching dark magic. This is very distressing so I will do research to discover whether or not this is true." _I finished reading the letter.

"Who's Irisa?" Leann asked. I remembered Irisa. I had met her more than once. She was a nice lady and a family friend. She wasn't old by my standards but she was certainly older than what other people thought. "A friend of my father." I told them.

Orland made a gasping sound as if something had just clicked in his mind. "Kei, I remember something about those papers. In the translated code the name Irisa appears several times." I looked through the papers and saw that he was right. In between the nonsense of the code the name Irisa stood out clearly on several papers. My tail began whipping back and forth in excitement and I clipped Aria in her back.

"Watch it, Kei." She said.

"I'm guessing we need to find Irisa." Leonel said. "Where does she live?"

"She lives in a house at the base of the mountains." I said. "More specifically the mountains that surround that form the cliffs near the northern sea inlet." I unfolded the map on the table when everyone moved their bowls. I followed the coastline up to the northern sea inlet. "It's about a two day walk from here. We should stop here." I said pointing to a dot that marked Sharance's location on the map. "We need supplies if we're going to get there."

"I agree." Aria said as she took stock of what we had. Our food supply was the real problem. We had enough food to make it to Sharance but we'd have to get more if we were going to travel farther than the mountain.

"The town of Sharance." Leann said. "We have family there."

"But they're a bit strange." Sera and Serena added. I didn't know how strange they could be. I rarely saw much of Herman in Alvarna but he was definitely strange. It was still difficult to say goodbye to the home I had grown up in but it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Leonel waved to me to get my attention and I rushed over to him and the others as we got going. I never looked back.


	14. Deciphering

**Yay! Another chapter. My muse has never been stronger, I've already finished the next three chapters so I'll post every other day. Please leave your reviews.**

*Kyle's POV*

Alvarna had been quiet the last week and a half. The atmosphere in town had been somber to say the least, I would even go so far as to compare it to a funeral. It had been this way since the children left. It was unusual to be outside and not hear them laughing or playing. Their absence had also affected the people living in town as to their attitudes. Kei was gone, there wasn't any need to be afraid but now she was being blamed for the children leaving. It wasn't anyone's fault but if I pushed it then the one at fault was more Leonel than Kei. Still most of us believed the children had made the decision because they thought it was best. I was aware of the looks I got from Douglas and Mana had become depressed. The tension between Barrett and his father had grown worse to the point that the two had a fight that was heard by nearly everyone in town.

Speaking of Barrett, he hadn't left the school since that fight. He was busy with the translations and didn't spend much time elsewhere. Barrett and I had become good friends despite the conflict we had when we were younger. I could tell he missed Leonel, he may never show much emotion but everyone could tell how much he cared about his son and his leaving had devastated Barrett even if he said he supported his decision. I felt the same about Aria, I heard about what she had done to find me and I knew she could take care of herself but I still worried. We were parents, we would never outgrow worrying about our children.

I had been helping Barrett with his translations and we still hadn't uncovered much. The only thing Barrett had managed to decipher was that it was the journal of a man who belonged to something called Horizon. According to Barrett, Horizon to be a group or cult, however he still couldn't tell what it meant. I found him in the school's library where he had been the last week and a half.

"Take it from me," I told him as I walked in, "overworking yourself won't help your chance of success." He didn't even have his bandana on like normal.

"If we don't find out what's going on the children could get themselves killed." He said. Straight to the point as usual with him.

"Still, it wouldn't kill you to spend more time at home with Dorothy and Yuri." I told him. "You have a bad habit of becoming obsessed with solving a problem."

"Maybe, but I have a reason to," he pulled out a small paper. "I found this on Kei's table, you apparently missed it. It's a note, it says she's sorry for the trouble she caused and she's leaving. She apologizes to us directly for the trouble we went through to protect her."

"You feel responsible for her leaving." I said recognizing the look of guilt on his face. "There wasn't anything you could do."

"I should have been more careful," Barrett said. "I should have known something was off or that they would try something on the festival when our guard was down. Kei is paying for my mistake."

I leaned against the table. Once Barrett got an idea in his head it was hard to change it. "Hindsight's twenty-twenty." I told him. "At the time you had no idea they would try something like that. They had only been after Kei, you couldn't have known they would come after you for that book. It could've been worse, they could have gotten Leonel or killed you. I think the fact that Kei showed up saved your life."

Barrett sighed. He knew I was right but he was still struggling with the belief that he was partly responsible for this. "Humor me Kyle." He said. "We need to at least get an understanding of this journal. So far all I know is that it was written decades ago."

"Well," I said searching through the pages, "some of these words look like they could be foreign. Perhaps from the elven or dwarf language."

"I've already eliminated that as a possibility." Barrett said. "This is really confusing."

"Giving up." I teased.

"Not even close." He said back to me. "Of course I can't rule out that it's a personal code and if that's the case it's possible I could never figure this out." I went back over the papers and began reading some words aloud hoping they would make sense. "Ath."

Barrett's head jolted up. "What did you just say?" He asked with a tone that made it sound like he was slightly irritated.

"Ath." I said pointing to a paper labeled page one. "Right here, at the top. I thought if I said it aloud it might sound more familiar."

"I'm such an idiot." He said as he took the paper from my hand.

"One, nice to hear you call yourself that and two, what did you find out?" I asked.

"I know this language," he said, "I just wasn't used to seeing it written that way." He began writing furiously on another piece of paper. The end result was:_ Journal of Kano. A member of Horizon. I am writing this journal in Ath writing to keep prying eyes away._ I saw a smile cross Barrett's face as he succeeded. "It's the language of Earthmates written in plain letters. I didn't recognize it sooner because I hadn't read Ath in anything but symbol form."

Barrett spent the next few hours reading through the papers and translating onto another paper. I read the papers as he finished writing them. It was little more than a journal. This person, Kano, was a member of a group called Horizon. There wasn't much detail about the group and just more focused on Kano's experience. According to this Kano was looking for information on an old ceremony that would awaken or grant some kind of power. But it didn't seem Kano knew exactly what it would do. Kano spent a lot of time looking for it but none of the papers said whether or not he found it. The journal did mention that Kano met a woman and when I saw the name of the town I started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Barrett asked as he looked up.

"Kano spent several years in Corseca." I said. Barrett still wasn't getting the connection. "Kei is from Corseca."

Barrett let out a short laugh. "You're right, that is quite the coincidence but I doubt Kei knows anything. The earliest date in this journal is fifty years ago."

"You're probably right." I went back to reading the papers. As the entries went on Kano began to express discontent at the actions of Horizon. They attacked innocent people and destroyed livelihoods. "Uh, Barrett are you fully reading what you're translating?"

"That's what you're doing isn't it." He said in response. I took that as a no.

"Listen to this. It's an entry dated twenty years ago." I cleared my throat to begin reading. "_I have found that I am no longer able to follow Horizon's philosophy. Their promise of a world in peace was nothing more than a ploy to assert themselves as rulers. I know the truth about the ceremony now and I can't go through with it. I'm leaving, perhaps I'll go to Corseca, I met a sweet and gentle woman there and we fell in love. I promised her I'd return."_

"Interesting." Barrett said. "There are some pages ripped out in the middle so maybe he talked about the ceremony then."

"It's possible." I said rubbing my chin. "There's a gap between twenty five and twenty years ago."

"It still doesn't give us a clear picture of what's going on." Barrett said. He was right. We may have deciphered part of the journal but it created more questions. I looked outside and saw that the sun was beginning to set. I yawned and stretched. I could tell Barrett was feeling tired as well because he kept closing his eyes and yawning.

"I think we should get some rest." I took the papers away and put them back where he usually kept them. "We know more than what we did before." I said. "Kei and the children will definitely come back to Alvarna and maybe they'll have learned something that will help us all make sense of this."


	15. Irisa

**I told myself I probably wasn't going to do this but my heart got the better of me. Also I realized I could do more by doing this. Please enjoy the surprise in this chapter and tell me what you think.**

The mountains by the sea were much colder than the ones near Alvarna. The air was thick with moisture and sea salt and the ground was frozen and slippery.

We had passed through Sharance yesterday and had gotten enough food to last almost two weeks. Sera, Serena and Leann had stopped by their cousin's house and sent a letter back home. I thought it was a good idea because it would ease the worries of everyone back home. Home, when had I started considering Alvarna home? It wasn't important but it was good to acknowledge that I had a place I could call home.

"Be careful," Aria called from the front of the group, "it's slippery up ahead." She was right. Most of the slope was covered in ice and snow and we had to carefully pick our way through or we could get hurt. Irisa was just on the other side of the mountain and she had to know something about Horizon.

_Crack._

I heard the noise and my ears pricked up. It happened to fast to stop it. The rock we were walking on started cracking and fell away beneath Aria's feet. We tried to reach her but we couldn't stop her from falling off the edge. It may not have been a long fall but Aria hit the side of the cliff more than once on the way down. We carefully picked our way down the ten foot high cliff to her side.

Aria was moaning in pain and moving slightly. She has scrapes and bruises on her arms and legs. Her clothing was torn and ripped in several places. She was bleeding from the gash on her head that went from her forehead to over her right eye.

"Aria!" Leonel yelled. She whimpered and tears started forming.

"Hurts." She whined. I pulled out some bandages and crudely wrapped them around her head to stop the bleeding. My ears pricked up as I heard a noise. More rocks, I wondered, no, footsteps I recognized the sound. I turned around and saw an older woman carrying a bag full of wild grass.

"Oh, my." She said. "Poor thing." She knelt down next to Aria and stroked her head. Aria whimpered at the touch. I then realized that I recognized the concerned woman.

"Irisa, can you help her?" I asked. The others stared at me as they recognized her as the woman they had come to meet. Irisa looked at me and I saw that she recognized me as well.

"Little Kei." She smiled. "It's been so long but now isn't the time to talk." She lifted Aria carefully into her arms. "You and your friends should follow me so we can help this little one." I nodded to them and we followed Irisa back to her home. It was how I remembered it. A fairly large house hidden in the forest at the base of the mountains. I could hear the ocean in the distance crashing against the rocky bluffs that surrounded the area.

Irisa gently placed Aria on the bed. Aria groaned as she was moved on to her side and then onto her back. Irisa covered her with a blanket and shooed us out so Aria could rest.

"Thank you Irisa." I said.

"Your friend needs rest. She should be fine in a few days." She said. Everything about her was just as I remembered it. She had long blond hair and I still couldn't figure out her age. "Kei, it's been ages since I've seen you."

"I think it's only been seven years." She hugged me. Even after all that time I still remembered that she smelled like pine and that hadn't changed at all.

"What brings you here?" She asked. Her foot tapped the ground which meant she was waiting to explain something.

"We were hoping you could help us with there," Orland handed Irisa the papers, "my name is Orland."

"Hello Orland." Everyone else introduced themselves to her. "It's good to see Kei has such good friends right now. Especially since her father can't be with her right now."

"You know then." I said sadly.

"I do." She nodded. "Kano was a good friend of mine and he was gravely wounded. I'm afraid I cannot help you with deciphering your father's writing. He liked to use personal codes and often changed them."

"Do you know about something called Horizon?" Leonel asked.

"I do, young one." Irisa said. "Horizon is a rather interesting group that has been around for much longer than you think. They want to assert themselves as rulers of the world." I didn't understand what she meant. "I still don't know what their full intentions are but I can tell you what they want with Kei."

"All we know is what Kei has told us. She was kidnapped for a ritual of some sort." Leonel told her. Irisa nodded in confirmation.

"That is correct young human." Irisa said. "Kei is very special. The ceremony you speak of will grant a person unimaginable power at a great cost. Kei's blood will be spilled on the altar and her life drained away for the power."

"Why Kei?" Leann asked. A look of horror had passed over all their faces.

"I am not quite sure. It could have something to do with her half breed blood being more potent or it could be something as simple as a vendetta. I think it's premature to say anything with certainty. All I know is Kei's father went to great lengths to hide her."

"And he paid for it with his life." I said grimly. Had I been the target of a grudge against my father?

"Kei, do you know for a fact that Kona is dead?" Irisa asked.

Of course I did. "He was speared through his abdomen and took an arrow to the back of the head even though it didn't do much damage." I saw Irisa begin to speak so I cut her off. "And before you say anything, I know my race is far more resilient than humans and that, given time, he would likely recover and live although with a great amount of pain for a while but they burned the whole town. All the bodies were consumed by flames. While he might have been okay there's no way he would have survived the fire in his condition."

"I see Kei." Irisa lowered her eyes. She didn't say anything for a while and started fussing with things around the room. I thought it was strange but I knew better than to question Irisa.

"I suppose if your father cannot do it then it falls to me." I couldn't tell if she was talking to me or to herself. She turned around and addressed me directly. "Kei, do you remember the location of the inlet cave?" I nodded. It wasn't that far from here, just a walk along the jagged path around the bluff. I had seen my father enter and leave the cave several times when we visited here. I was never allowed in and father always seemed to know when I was thinking about it or tried to sneak off because he usually caught me at the door before I could leave Irisa's home. "You must now enter it. I can sense the feelings of your friends and you are indeed blessed to have people who care about you. One of them will accompany us but you must decide who."

"Leonel." I said without even thinking about it. I trusted everyone I was with but Leonel was the only one I had truly shared my secrets with. Not to mention he was my boyfriend so the only one who might have come close to going instead was Aria but she was still unconscious and in pain.

"I had a feeling. Now, come." Leonel and I followed her out while the others watched from the window. I kind of wished she would slow her pace but she didn't even so much as acknowledge us so we had to hurry to keep pace with her. Surprisingly the path and ledges weren't covered in ice like in other places.

"I come here nearly every day so I can't have the path covered in ice." She said as if reading my mind. "There is someone very important waiting at the end of this path. That is why I said you could bring only one of your friends. A large group would startle him in his current state."

"Irisa, why did father never allow me in here before?" Expecting there to be some kind of great secret.

"It is a place of meditation for our kind." She said. "There is no great secret hidden in this cave other than the energy that exists within. The energy in this cave focuses and clears our minds. As a child the energy would have overwhelmed you and it was for your own protection that you weren't allowed in."

"Our kind." Leonel repeated. "So you're like Kei's dad?"

"Indeed. I have known Kei since she was born and her father even longer than that. We are similar but that discussion can wait for another time." As soon as we entered the cave I felt the energy she was talking about fill my body. My ears flattened and my tail twitched. I looked over at Leonel and saw that he didn't even notice the sudden increase in power. "It is uncomfortable at first but your body will grow used to it. Normal humans are not greatly affected by it but you're Earthmate friend would definitely sense the energy."

She was right, the sudden shock was distressing but after several minutes of walking the energy no longer bothered me and it became a low hum in the background of my mind that I could easily ignore. The cave was the same dreary shade of dark gray that made the rest of the bluffs. As we went down further I saw beautiful crystals that formed along the walls and ceiling and some even jutted up from the floor. They appeared to change color as they pulsated with energy.

"Those are rune crystals aren't they?" Leonel said to Irisa.

"You're very keen, Leonel." Irisa praised. "They are indeed rune crystals. They are responsible for the energy flowing in though this cave. You'll notice the land is alive in these parts with all different forms of life, it is in part due to the rune crystals that have been here for centuries if not millennia."

"That's incredible." I gasped. It was similar to the story I had heard about the Sharance tree while in Sharance. The health of the land and the tree were deeply intertwined with the spirit of those who lived there. As we went in farther the crystals began to dominate the entirety of the cave but parted down the middle as if to make a path for us. The gray rock was no longer visible and neither was the entrance of the cave. The cave was so deep that the glow from the many crystals would never be seen from outside.

"We are close to him now." Irisa warned. I took a deep breath and inhaled the scents. I could smell the rock forming the cave as well as fresh water which wasn't too uncommon to find in a cave. It was another sent that bothered me. It was familiar but I could not put my finger on it. I focused in on it and made the connection. I took off running, leaving Leonel and Irisa behind. I vaguely heard Irisa say, "She's got it." I wasn't paying attention though because all my attention was on the scent I was following. The narrow corridor opened up into a large chamber covered from floor to ceiling in crystals, right below the mountain if my guess was right. The person Irisa had taken us to see was lying on a rock that rose slightly off the floor. He was on a bed of blankets piled up to keep him off the cold stone.

"Daddy." I whispered. His head rose slightly and I saw him smile.

"Hello, Kei." He smiled. "My little one."


	16. Miracle

"Daddy." I whispered. It was him. His scent, his appearance, his smile, everything was his and at the same time I knew it was true in my head my heart was having trouble believing. He was dead, I saw it at least I thought I did. I had seen the fire consume the town and I had assumed it had gotten him as well but I never saw him consumed by the fire.

"Kei." He said. Every part of my voice quivered with emotion at the sound of his voice. "Come here, little one." He sat up slightly.

"Daddy!" I cried and ran into his arms. He embraced me and stroked my head. His arms forming a protective barrier around me as I cried into his shoulder. He whispered sorry repeatedly into my ear as I cried. I didn't even hear Leonel and Irisa enter the chamber. I couldn't stop crying until he looked me in the eyes.

"You're so beautiful." He touched my scarf and then the ribbon on my tail. "These are very beautiful. Made by your young friend over there." He nodded in Leonel's direction. I nodded in response. I'm glad my father liked them.

"You're Kei's father." Leonel said as he edged a little closer. I could tell he was a bit uneasy with my dad. Of course, it was understandable, I did tell him my father was a tiger monster.

"I don't bite boy, unless you've done something to my daughter, then I'll rip you to shreds." He smiled and I saw Leonel panic slightly.

"He's joking." I told him to ease his anxiety. Leonel knelt down next to me and my father. Dad smiled and released me to sit with him. "How are you alive?" I asked him.

"Irisa." He simply said. She had settled down to talk with us. "As you've probably figured out I've known about Horizon for a while. To make a long story short, I told you we were leaving the next day, remember." I did. "Irisa was supposed to meet us in the woods and then they attacked."

"Indeed." Irisa said. "I saw the flames and rushed to your father's aid. Pitiful state I found him in too." I didn't need Irisa to go into detail. "Unconscious with the flames licking at him. He had already removed the spear himself but lay unable to move. I transformed into my monster form and carried him here to where I knew his wounds would heal best. He lay unconscious for days before coming to and his first thoughts were of you."

"I couldn't get to you Kei." He said. "My wounds were severe even for our kind. I was only surviving because of the energy of the rune crystals if I had left I would have surely died. Even now I am not fully ready to leave. I was glad when I learned you were in Alvarna, you were safe."

"How did you know she was there?" Leonel asked. I wanted to know as well.

"I tracked you Kei." Irisa said. "Some of your…incidents had spread beyond the town as rumors."

"Dad, what do they want with me?" I asked him. He grimaced and looked away clearly not wanting to discuss the issue. "You can't keep it from me forever."

"I am aware of that." He said. "Even if I did you'd find out on your own. I would rather spend now learning what my daughter has been up to. Clearly a lot since she now has a boyfriend." Leonel and I both blushed and I got the feeling he was scared my dad was going to kill him. I told him what I had experienced since arriving in Alvarna. I told him about my new home and the friends I made. I told him about the festival and what happened and how Barrett and Kyle took care of me. My relationship with Leonel who I loved very much. Lastly I told him about what had drove me from Alvarna and my journey to Corseca and coming here.

"You've had quite the adventure Kei." Dad sighed. I snuggled up close to Leonel and sighed as he stroked my head. "There is much I could tell you but I'll just tell you what you need to know right now." I huffed in irritation. Why couldn't he just tell me everything? "You know of the sacrifice and what it's for. They need Kei specifically because of her half breed blood, legends say that the blood of half monsters is very potent when used in magic and unfortunately it is correct this time. I am aware of other half breeds including two living not far from here in Sharance. The difference is that while they can transform between their human and monster forms, Kei cannot."

"That's because Kei is different isn't it." Leonel pointed out.

"You obviously have my daughter's trust, she doesn't share such things lightly." Dad said to him. "And as such, you have mine as well." He shifted in the blankets to get more comfortable. "But not as different as you might think, all monsters come from the forest of beginnings but there are a few capable of taking a human form and living in this world. Irisa and I are an example of this and the Native Dragons are as well. I am not entirely sure why Kei is different and cannot transform but she has clear monster features."

"Sir," Leonel said politely. "Why don't you take a full human form?"

"I prefer not to." He said. "I was always uncomfortable in full human form."

"Dad, while in Alvarna I learned that almost all weapons made have a special magic that sends monsters back to the forest so why didn't you go back."

"You are correct." Dad said. "All weapons in Norad are infused with this magic but weapons made elsewhere are not. The weapons used against me were not imbued with this magic and they were capable of gravely wounding me. There is something else you should know, I have never been to the forest before. I was born in this world as was my father and his father before him and possibly farther back. Even if I were struck with a weapon imbued by this magic I am unsure if it would affect me."

"How is that possible?" Leonel asked. I didn't know either, I had always thought that monsters began life in the forest.

"I do not know, my father never told me and I never thought it was that important. I have always called this world home. Perhaps because I was born here and not in the forest could explain Kei's unique traits. I believe that being born and living in this world for generations has made us different from the monsters the still live in the forest. This world is my home more than the forest."

Leonel sighed. "Speaking of home, we have to get back to Alvarna soon. Our parents are probably worried about us and I miss my family." I sympathized with him. The others probably feel the same as well and I wanted to go with them but I couldn't leave my dad again.

"Go." I told him. He looked at me strangely. "Go home. Your family is worried about you and you miss home. I appreciate all of you coming here with me but I can't ask you to put your lives at risk for me."

"If only that were so." Irisa said. We looked at her confused. "The young Earthmate is not well enough to leave. She'll need to rest a few more days before she can leave. I'm afraid you're all stuck here until then."

"Irisa." Dad said. "Am I strong enough to leave yet? I wish to accompany Kei and her friends back to Alvarna."

"Why?" Leonel asked. Dad looked down at him. "That book your father has possession of intrigues me. I would like to see it and I would like to see the place where my daughter now calls home."

"They took the book though." I reminded him. "I don't think it'll be much help."

"Actually," Leonel spoke up, "Dad made copies of part of the book so he could write on them instead. I'm certain he still has them and it's important that we learn what was written in that book."

"Yes, I suppose that is important." Irisa muttered something inaudible after that. "But I cannot allow Kona to leave this cave in his state. It is true that he's been here the last two months healing but even with the crystals pouring energy into him he still isn't strong enough to leave. Had he stayed inside here the entire time he would be better but I couldn't keep him inside all that time."

"I am glad you found such good friends." Dad looked at me. "That eases my worries about you."

I was glad to tell the others what had happened in the cave and they were all happy for me, even Orland smiled. Aria had woken up about an hour after had we left and was complaining about the pain in her leg. Irisa put a small rune crystal she had taken from the cave and had wrapped it to Aria's leg to speed up her healing. I spent time learning some different skills from Irisa such as basic sewing to repair my clothes and cooking something besides fish. I still ended up burning everything. Aria began feeling better quickly and was out of bed and was out of bed and walking faster thanks to the crystal. After bidding Irisa goodbye we began the long walk home back to Alvarna.

**This is my reasoning for the half monsters. They're special monsters that can take human form.**


	17. Not So Sweet Home

*Kyle's POV*

I woke up early the next morning. Snow had come through the town and covered everything. Luckily for him he had switched to his winter crops early due to the sudden change in temperature and her had been right. I stretched as I prepared to get started for the day. Mana was still sleeping quietly in the bed next to me. I gave her a gentle kiss and got up. I checked on Aaron before I went downstairs. Sound asleep and snoring in bed and across the room in the area divided off is where Aria would sleep.

I sighed. They had been gone almost a month and the only news we had was the letter Leann had sent home saying that they were okay. The letter had been sent from Sharance which was a very long way off from here. There was nothing Barrett or I could do until they came home, hopefully with new information. The only question in my mind was whether or not Kei would be with them when they did. She hadn't exactly had a warm sendoff and there were still some bad feelings about her.

I shook my head to dislodge the thoughts in my head. It didn't matter to me what the others thought, Kei would always be welcome in Alvarna and once this blew over she would be safe. I had to believe that because if I didn't it meant she would be forever alone. I had even been keeping her place clean or at least decent for when she did return.

I spent most of the morning trying to remove snow from the crops. It was hard work in the bitter cold that had taken the town by surprise. The storm had blown up out of nowhere and blanketed the area in almost an inch of snow which by itself wasn't bad but the biting cold that had stuck around combined with the sea air made it uncomfortable to be outside. I spent a good two hours working the fields, during that time Mana and Aaron had woken up and while Mana had left to got to the school Aaron was helping me clear the fields.

With Aaron's help I managed to clear the fields faster and went inside to warm up. Aaron joined me at the fire placed as we drank some warm soup Mana had been kind enough to prepare before leaving.

"Dad, when is she coming home?" Aaron asked still looking down at his bowl. He was referring to Aria. He was worried, as much as the two of them fight they still care about each other and I knew that if he were able he would have left with them.

"I don't know." I told him. "I would be lying if I told you she would be back soon. All I can tell you is that she will come back."

"I know," Aaron sighed. "But I'm worried. I mean, Kei has a target on her back and they could be in danger."

"We need to trust them." I said. Aaron nodded and drank the rest of his soup. I decided to go out to Kei's home. I had been keeping it clean for her for when she returned. Snow had piled up at the entrance and it took a while to clean off. I was there when Mana found me later.

"Kyle, come quick." She was bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping for air after clearly running a while to find me. "The children…the children are back…you need to hear…what they have to say." She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the town square. The children were indeed back and not in good shape. They were covered in scrapes and bruises and their clothes were coated in mud. The others were there holding their children after not having seen them for almost a month but it was Aria making the most noise. I looked around and saw that even though Barrett and Dorothy were here Leonel was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Kei.

"Aria!" I called. She looked up and I saw tears running down her cheeks and her eyes were red showing that she had been crying a while. "Daddy!" She cried. She ran crying into my arms and I held her as I fought back my own tears. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Kei and Leonel are gone." She choked out. "They were kidnapped." Everyone in town was listening. Barrett came closer to us to hear what Aria was saying.

"What happened?" He asked.

"They tried to ambush us." Orland explained and everyone turned their attention to him. "Kei picked up their scent before they could get too close. She took off to distract them while we ran. Leonel went after her when he heard her scream. We kept running, they never came back."

"Who took them?" I asked. Everyone listened intently. "Who took them?" I asked again.

"It was those people again!" Aria yelled. Everyone gasped and the yelling started. Aria sobbed into my chest and her hands fisted my jacket. I stroked the top of her hair in an effort to calm her. I couldn't believe it, Kei and Leonel, both gone. I thought about it and realized distracting them is definitely something Kei would do and chasing after her sounded like something Leonel would do without a second thought.

"This is out of hand." Byron said. "This girl is going to get us all killed."

"Byron not now." I growled. I respected Byron but now wasn't the time for this conversation. I looked around. Orland was being held tight by his mom while she cried. Sera and Serena were bawling their eyes out with Leann while their parents stayed close. I looked around and saw that everyone was wore similar look as if they couldn't believe what was happening.

"Enough Kyle. We can't protect Kei any longer and if she shows up she'll be seized." He said firmly. I saw Douglas and Gordon nod in agreement.

"You can't be serious!" I yelled at him. "Kei is a child. Why do you think she took off before?!"

"Enough Kyle." Byron ordered. I did as he said. Aria was still sobbing quietly into my chest. "Kei is not just a child, she is a dangerous half monster that brings trouble. If she wasn't here then we wouldn't have to live in fear of something like what's happened to Leonel."

"Be quiet!" Barrett yelled. Everyone stared at him with astonishment. Even Byron was shocked by his sudden outburst. "Kei is not a dangerous monster. Leonel made his decision to protect someone he cared about, you can't blame Kei for his decision."

"Leonel is my grandson!" Byron told him. "You sound as if you don't care about his safety."

"He is my son!" Barrett yelled back. His eyes were filled with rage. "Kei is not a beast! Who cares if she's half monster? She bleeds the same as the rest of us! Kei is the victim here and saying that her being alive causes a problem is a twisted idea." He got louder in his yelling. "Leonel is my son before he is anything to you. For you to insinuate that I don't love or care about him is out of line, father!"

"Settle down." Dorothy wrapped her arms around his waist. "No one is saying you don't love Leonel." I had known the tension between Barrett and his father was getting worse but I never would've guessed he'd blow up like this.

"All of you should be ashamed." Barrett continued. "Treating Kei like a dangerous animal. Kyle," he turned to me, "you and I are going to bring Kei home. Aria can tell us what happened at the school." He stormed off in the direction of the school. None of us knew how to respond. Byron was still standing on the steps. No one could believe what just happened and they began to discuss it. The children were taken home by their parents to be treated and just to spend time with each other since they had been away so long. Aaron and Aria were hugging each other clearly happy to be together again.

"Dad," Aria called me. "We need to go with Barrett. If we want any hope of getting Leonel and Kei back alive we need to hurry." I nodded. Time was of the essence now. Kei and Leonel were depending on us now and we couldn't let them down.

**If it looks like a skipped a chapter in between this and the last on, I did. Don't worry it was intentional. And Barrett completely lost his temper with his father. If you didn't see that coming, slap yourself. Please R&R.**


	18. Captured

**I am really late on this. I got distracted by Alpha Sapphire when it came out and then I planned on posting it on Wednesday but the snowstorm cancelled my college early before I had the chance. So enjoy this late chapter, it's a little darker than what I intended.**

*Leonel's POV*

I found that waking up after being knocked out hurt more than getting hit in the head. My head throbbed with pain where they struck me and it felt like my eyes were sore when I opened them. I didn't know where I was but I guess I should be grateful that I wasn't dead. I immediately registered a cold and heavy object around my neck. I ran my hand along it and felt that it was a collar.

I heard groaning beside me and saw Kei. I felt a rush of emotion all at one, part of me was happy that she was with me and another part was worried that she was hurt and a another part still was worried about what would happen to her. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked, her bright blue eyes still slightly glossy. It took a while for her to fully comprehend what was going on around her but she slowly adjusted.

"Leonel, what happened?" She asked. She sat up and I gasped as I saw the collar on her as well. She looked down and touched it as if to see of it was real.

"I don't know," I told her. She snuggled close to me and buried her head in my chest. It was something Kei did a lot, she had told me she liked listening to my heartbeat. "They got us."

"They? Oh," she sighed. "Horizon." I felt her tremble slightly.

"It'll be okay," I said. "Aria and the others got away. They'll get help." I turned my head away from her hoping that she wouldn't see the doubts I had. I didn't doubt that Aria and the others had made it home, I doubted whether or not help would come fast enough. Sure, dad and Kyle would come without a second thought but Grandpa wasn't as excepting of Kei. I'm not sure whether or not it was because he didn't like her or he was scared of her or if it was something else. If he had his way with the situation he would forget about Kei without a second thought.

"Leonel," Kei's hand reached up and lightly pushed on my cheek so I would face her. Her eyes didn't betray the fear I knew she must be feeling but I could still tell she was scared. "Are you okay?"

"I'm as okay as I can be," I told her. She smiled slightly and I felt better. "How about you?"

"Fine," she muttered and then she jumped as if coming to a sudden realization. "The scarf you made me," she said reaching for her neck, "it's gone. It must have come off when we were captured." She turned around to see if the ribbon I had made was still there, it was there although a bit dirty. She sighed in relief.

"Don't worry about the scarf Kei," I said to her. I lifted her chin and kissed her gently. She responded by kissing me back. I pulled away and looked her in the eye. "I won't let anything happen to you. I love you."

"I love you too, Leonel," She said. Her tail flicked back and forth in a motion I learned to recognize as a sense of joy or comfort. It was good to see Kei looking happy and comfortable despite the situation. I held her close, not wanting to let go for fear of losing her. It was quiet in the dark room until Kei's ears pricked up and the door opened. As light began to flood in I saw the same woman who had come to Alvarna almost a month ago. She slowly walked toward us and looked to be enjoying the control she had.

"What do you want?" I growled.

"I came to see how my prisoners were doing," She smiled. It wasn't a sincere smile but a fake one meant to calm an animal before it was beaten.

"You're with Horizon?" Kei said clearly puzzled. I understand why, most of the Horizon members had a scent that Kei associated with blood. When she showed up in Alvarna Kei couldn't detect this scent.

"Actually, I'm not," she replied with a sneer. "You were so sensitive to the ones who had captured you the first time that they couldn't get in that town without alerting you."

"If you're not part of them then why are you here?" I asked. She gave me that smile again. It made me sick. She moved and for the first time I noticed the chain at her side. It was a good length and looked to me like a leash. I nudged Kei's side and made a small gesture to the chain and she nodded slightly.

"Horizon hired me to catch their little pet," She told us. "I'm part of a group that makes a good profit off of catching little brats like you and selling them."

"Slavers," Kei hissed. "That's illegal in Norad." She was right. Slavery was illegal in Norad but that didn't stop those groups from attacking small and out of the way villages. It wasn't something that was widespread so it didn't get much attention or concern throughout the country and it did get swiftly dealt with but people were still aware that it happened.

"It might be illegal in this lovely country but that doesn't mean it's not happening," She said to us. I gritted my teeth in frustration, she was bragging about her crimes. I didn't like the idea that Horizon had hired a slaver to capture us. She reached out to touch me but I pulled away. "Hmm," she said, "you look pretty feminine."

"Leave him!" Kei yelled. The woman ignored her instead grabbing the chain and attaching it to my collar. "What are you doing to him?" Kei cried.

"I was told to take him as soon as he woke up. Don't ask why but I'm guessing he'll find out." She yanked on the chain and pulled me to my feet. Kei cried as she took me out of the room. The room was actually a small cabin in the woods. The sun was setting over the mountains, we had moved far from where we had been when caught judging from the mountains being a little more distant. There weren't many people here, only enough to handle the three wagons located at the edge of the forest.

"Let go of me!" I growled as she yanked my chain harder. I tried digging in my heels and pulling away but her grip held firm to the chain. She seemed amused with my effort. The snow covering the ground made it more difficult to get a footing.

"Do you really think you can get free? I've dealt with stronger men than you and, no offense, but you're a little feminine looking."

"Shut up," I said trying not to let her intimidate me.

"Why is that?" She pushed. "I've met your father, Barrett. How is it that he has a kid like you?" I did my best to ignore her taunts. I refused to take the bait. It was true that when I was little I was teased about being feminine when they compared me to dad. "I watched him and Kyle in the school trying to decipher that little book. Your father is pretty smart, making copies of the pages so he could work on it without the book. He's also strong willed, I found him amusing but I'll let you in on a secret," she pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, "I could break him in a week. He's nothing compared to the men I've broken, I'll have him begging me for mercy."

"Shut up!" I lunged at her. She threatened my dad and I couldn't stand it anymore. She was fast though, she moved out of the way and yanked the chain pulling me to the ground. I was panting heavily, she was far too comfortable doing this. "Don't talk about my dad that way," I gasped. "He'd never lose to a coward like you."

"Coward, am I," she said. "I just wanted to see how much it took to get a reaction out of you." I cursed silently to myself. I had known she was baiting me and I still fell for it. I let her take me around one of the wagons where I got a shock. It was the two who had kidnapped me on Blessia Island.

"Took you long enough," Luis said. "You've got your payment for the girl."

"I do. Shame I can't have the boy, I could make a good amount off him." I snorted at her. She wanted to sell me for profit. I received a sharp slap for that. She handed them the chain and left with the pouch that they had placed on the back of the wagon for her. I carefully watched Luis and his partner not wanting to be caught off guard.

"Been a while boy," Luis said. "I remember your father and I'm still pissed about that." He latched the end of the chain to the back of the wagon. I picked at it but couldn't loosen it, my fingers were too cold. I heard them approach me from behind. Luis's partner grabbed my wrists and put them in leather restraints before securing them to the same hook as the chain. I began to panic when Luis cut my shirt off. "Henry, tell the boy what we're gonna do to him." Luis said.

"We're gonna make an example of you," Henry raised the whip in his hand. "Fair warning, this will hurt." He brought it down on my back and I screamed. Searing pain shot through every part of my body and hot tears streamed down my face. There was no doubt that Kei could hear me and she was probably stressing herself out.

"Why?" I asked them. My throat was dry and burning. My legs were shaking and I was certain that if I wasn't being held up by the tight chains my legs would have collapsed beneath me.

"You are getting very annoying. You have done nothing but get in our way to protect that girl," Luis hissed in my ear. Henry struck my bare skin with the whip and I screamed. Luis raised his hand to stop Henry from lashing me again. "I think he's got the message," he walked around and stood in front of me. "I wanted to kill you and string your body up at that nice school as a warning, however we're missing an important piece to our plan and you can help us get that piece as well as keeping the little half breed calm. The little beast got quite violent."

"Kei is not a beast," I said adamantly. "Kei is a girl."

"She's a beast," Henry said. "Granted, Kona was different than normal monsters but that doesn't change the fact that he married a human and had a half breed child."

"I don't understand." I told them.

"Kei has monster blood running through her veins. Too bad Kona didn't live long enough to see what he had been searching for so long." I started slightly but recovered my composure quickly. They still thought her father was dead. We could use that to our advantage.

"Call Kei whatever you want. I still love her," I said firmly. Henry and Luis laughed and I felt the whip on my back again. The cold air stung as it hit the open injuries. Everything was cold, my fingers were numb and I was beginning to lose feeling in my toes. My eyes were getting heavy and I felt like falling asleep.

"I think he's had enough," Henry said. "We'll kill him at this rate." Luis released my wrists and the collar from the post and I almost collapsed. I was tired and exhausted, I just wanted to sleep. "He's feeling the effects of the drug and the cold. Keep him warm, can't have him dying on us."

"Got it," Henry said. I was half carried and half dragged by him back to the cabin. A blanket was draped around me and I began to fall asleep. I could feel the blood from my wounds sticking to the blanket. I was vaguely aware of someone touching me and gently stroking my hair as I finally fell asleep.


	19. The Key

**I hope to be back on track with my updates now but you never know. Just to say it again, I own nothing in this story except OC's and the plot. Please leave reviews.**

*Barrett's POV*

That argument I had with my father had left me feeling angry. I had rarely seen eye to eye with him but when he accused me of not caring for Leonel's safety he was out of line. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I loved Leonel. He had never grown out of the sensitive and timid nature he had always had since he was little but he had grown up. He loved Kei, I was always aware of it even before he told her. I couldn't explain it but something about Kei had affected Leonel's behavior. Before he knew Kei I would never have thought he would do anything like running off or getting himself captured to help her. But unlike my father I didn't blame Kei for this trouble. She didn't make Leonel's decision for him and she wasn't responsible for her situation.

I hadn't spoken to my dad since that argument the other day. I was shocked to learn that Kei's father was still alive and that he had known about Horizon for a while. I was glad Kei still had family that she could be with because I doubted she would be living in Alvarna much longer.

I walked into the house out of the cold, biting wind. Yuri scampered over to me as soon as I walked in the door. She grabbed my leg and began tugging at the bottom of my jacket.

"Daddy!" She giggled. I picked her up and she giggled some more as I held her. "When's Lele coming home?" She asked.

"He'll be home soon," I told her. She frowned and I swore this child could tell when I was lying.

"Is Kie coming with him?" She asked.

"Her name is Kei," I corrected. "Yes, she is. Leonel's going to bring Kei back." That I knew was true. Leonel would bring Kei back to Alvarna but I wasn't sure anymore if this was a good idea. Dad had made it clear that he didn't want Kei anywhere near the town and I was worried about her safety here.

"Barrett," I looked up and saw Dorothy standing in the kitchen entrance. "She looks more like you every day." She was holding Fern today. Dorothy had grown out of needing Fern constantly but she still kept it and now she only held it when she was nervous or anxious.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I had grown concerned about her since Leonel left, she had been experiencing a lot of anxiety lately.

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to spend some time at home," she said. I grimaced. I knew I hadn't been spending much time at home the past week.

"I try but all this with Leonel and Kei, I can't waste time." I told her apologetically. It was the same thing I had been telling her. "I just want to be able to put this right so things can go back to the way they were."

"I know but Leonel wouldn't want you running yourself ragged," she said. She was pulling on the toy's ear nervously. I put my hands on hers and gave then a reassuring squeeze.

"I won't. I promise," I said trying to ease her anxiety. Dorothy smiled and I handed her Yuri before I left. I unlocked the door to the school and lit some of the lanterns to give me light. I sat down at my desk and pulled out the papers I had translated. It was at this point that I really began to feel Leonel's absence. Leonel had always wanted to learn and he was interested in the translations and how I did it. For almost two months he had sat at my side and assisted me. When he had left I was somewhat upset but I had known what he was doing. Protecting Kei was important to him as it was to me and Kyle. I was okay with him leaving because I had known that he would come back but now I wasn't sure. Leonel had been kidnapped along with Kei and now I was filled with a sense of dread and fear that I would never see him again.

My hope was still in the pages of Kona's diary. When Aria had told me the journal was written by Kei's father I was skeptical at first but Orland showed me the letters they had found at Kei's home and I recognized the same code that the book had been written in. The letters didn't add anything new except to confirm her father was indeed the same Kona that had been involved with Horizon. They mostly detailed the events leading up to the destruction of Corseca. In one of them he even said that Horizon was vicious and would torture and kill to get what they wanted, a stark contrast to how they acted when he first joined them.

"I know most of this but where is the ceremony?" I asked myself as I read the papers again. Not one of the papers gave an indication as to where the ceremony had to take place. It was frustrating, the best option I could see was to find out where they were going and intercept them. Without a location we could only sit and wonder what would happen.

"I can't stand this!" I yelled. My son and Kei were being held by a dangerous group of people that we still knew little about and there was nothing any of us could do. It frustrated me to no end. Maybe Dorothy was right, I needed a break from worrying about this. Perhaps I'll be able to focus a little better after a walk. Messhina Valley was my preferred place to relax. It was easy for me to clear the monsters out of my favorite fishing spot, if I was lucky I'd catch some salmon for dinner.

I leaned back against the tree and relaxed. I thought about everything I knew and my mind came back to the book. I don't know why it always did but I had the feeling it was important, they had wanted that book more than Kei.

I stopped. They wanted the book more than Kei. If they knew everything about the ceremony then they would have gone right after Kei instead of the book. I could only think of two reasons why, they either wanted to keep us from finding it or they didn't know everything written in the book yet. That last one was interesting because it had taken me a while to recognize that it was Ath writing and Kona had said in the book that he wrote in it to keep people from being able to read what was written. At the time it was likely no one could understand Ath and even though I could read the Ath symbols I had difficulty reading it in plain letters. It's also possible that someone who could recognize the words wouldn't be able to read the symbols.

I wanted to rush off but I had promised Dorothy that I would try to take it easy. It hurt to relax when I knew every second counted but she was right, it wouldn't do me any good to exhaust myself. I drifted in a state to where I was half asleep and awake.

_Snap._ I was on my feet with my sword drawn but I wasn't fast enough. I was so focused on the two in front of me I didn't notice the one sneaking up behind me. This position was getting old, on my back with a sword pointed at my throat. It was the three who had ambushed me at the school.

"You should really learn to watch your back," he said. I glared at him still aware of the sword at my throat. I knew what they were capable of.

"Where is my son?" I asked.

"In time," he said. He knelt down next to me and gripped my braid. "Answer my question, can you read Ath symbols?"

"Yes," I said.

"Good, just like our little canary said," He pulled me up and tied my hands. I hissed as he tightened the ropes until I couldn't move. "Now listen," he yanked my head back. "You're going to cooperate with us or your son will get hurt."

"That the best you can come up with," I taunted. "That's not exactly a new tactic." He backhanded me.

"It may not be new but it's an effective tactic against bleeding hearts like you in Alvarna," he said.

"What do you want with me?" I demanded. He fastened a collar around my throat and attached what I thought was a leash. He yanked on it forcing me to follow.

"You're the last key we need to perform the ceremony," he said. "There's a seal written on the altar that we need to remove before we can perform it. It's written in Ath and you're going to help us remove it." So I had been right, they can't read Ath. Their little 'canary' had probably been Leonel and I immediately began thinking of what they had done to him to make him talk

"You think I'm going to help you kill Kei," I growled.

"You'll do it to save the life of your son," he told me and I grimaced. "What is the value of Kei's life when compared to your son's?" I couldn't answer that question.


	20. Light in the Darkness

**I enjoyed writing this for my friend who told me I couldn't fit the story name into the story. Also I correctly predicted who would be the next to review this story. I'm kind of sad about that. Please leave more reviews.**

I cried for hours. The moment I saw Leonel in that condition I had burst into tears. He was covered in whip marks and barely conscious. He was cold, almost every inch of his body either red from the cold or the beating. The back of his shirt was shredded and had blood on it. Leonel had woken up once and had told me to stop crying before going back to sleep. Someone came in later, she had long black hair and didn't say anything but cast what I knew was the cura spell on Leonel, healing his injuries until they weren't so severe.

The next day Leonel was taken away except that when he came back he was crying and had new lash marks on his back. I draped a blanket around him and cuddled with him.

"My dad's going to hate me," he cried. I tried to wipe his tears but they kept coming.

"What happened?" I asked. He shook his head and continued to sob.

"Th-they wanted t-to know," he choked out in between sobs. "They wanted to know if my dad had r-read the b-book. They knew someone in Alvarna could read Ath. I told them th-that my dad could." He cried into my arm more intensely. "They beat me Kei, I didn't want to give them Aria s-so I told them my dad could read it."

"Leonel, your dad loves you," I told him. "He won't hate you." He continued to cry. _Leonel shouldn't be crying,_ I thought. _This is my fault._

"Please don't cry," I asked him. He sniffled some more and lifted his head. His blue eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Barrett will be fine, he'll understand."

"He's really strict sometimes," Leonel admitted. "Aaron and Roy convinced me to sneak into the school late at night one time when were little. Dad came back for something and caught us, he dragged Aaron and Roy home and when he got me home he gave me a lecture and made me clean the classroom for the next three days." He started laughing and I did too.

"One time I climbed this really high tree after my dad had told me several times not to. I got all the way to the top before I got stuck and he made me sit in that tree for an hour before getting me down. I never did it again." It wasn't a fun experience and I was good and scared by the time he got me down but I looked back on it fondly because it was from a time when I had very little to worry about in my life.

"I guess our dads are just showing that they care," he said. The door to the small cabin opened again and the same woman came in and healed Leonel's injuries before leaving. I rested my head against his chest and began thinking about myself. Sharing the story from when I was little had gotten me thinking about what I wanted now. For a while now my life had been consumed by thoughts of surviving and any plans I had for my future had gone to the wayside.

"Kei." Leonel gently shook me and I realized he had been trying to get my attention for a while. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"I was thinking about what I wanted for my future," I said. "I haven't thought about what I wanted since all this happened and I was thinking that it would give me hope for a future."

"What is it you want?" He asked.

"I want," I said as I pondered my thoughts. "I want to stay in Alvarna. I want to live there with my dad and do stupid stuff without having to worry about someone getting hurt because of me." I took a deep breath. "I want to spend forever with you." He smiled and started laughing. "I'm serious Leonel. I don't think I would have gotten this far without you and Aria and the others. I would have given into them when I first got here. You're my light in this darkness, you give me hope that everything will be okay."

"I wasn't laughing at you, Kei," he smiled. "I was laughing because I want the same thing. I like having you around and things have been more fun with you. I don't care if the others are scared of you, dad and Kyle like you too and so do all our friends. I love you Kei and I'm happy that you have found a reason to want to live. And I know that if you were to die everyone would be sad." I buried my head in his bare chest as he continued to soothe me. "I'll always be your light as long as we're together. When this is over I hope that you'll be able to live with your dad in peace." Leonel stroked my hair and ran his hand down my back.

"Thank you," I said. Leonel was my hope, he gave me something worth living for. The door opened and I recognized Luis as he came in.

"Time to get moving kiddies," he said with a twisted smile. He slipped a loose shirt over Leonel's head before attaching the chains to our collars. As we were walked out I could see the small camp being packed up and loaded onto the wagons.

"Where are they taking us?" Leonel whispered to me.

"We have everything we need to perform the ceremony now," Luis answered us having clearly heard Leonel's question. "Thanks to your little boyfriend we have the last key needed to access the altar."

Key? I wasn't sure what he meant but I knew I probably wasn't going to like the answer. It was a long ride to wherever they were taking us. Leonel and I hugged each other tightly as the wagon bumped along. I began thinking that the only thing that kept us from trying to run was fear of what would happened to the other if we got caught. For the time being though I was glad Leonel was by my side, he truly was my light.

We were in the wagon for hours before stopping. It was a very rocky area located in a mountain that wasn't near Alvarna. The area was devoid of the snow that plagued the coasts. The area would have been beautiful if not for our situation.

Luis called over to one of the guys standing around. "They back with him yet?"

"Not yet," he said back. "They're on their way."

We spent about another hour for waiting whoever was supposed to come. Leonel and I huddled together trying to stay calm. I knew when they came back because there was a commotion. I recognized the three who had attacked the school and even more horrifying was who they had on a leash.

"Dad," Leonel sobbed. I could hear his heart racing as he realized what he had done. They took Barrett from Alvarna. Barrett was the final key to unlocking the ceremony.


	21. Family Affairs

**Yay, another chapter! This one might be bit complicated.**

They had taken Barrett. I couldn't believe it, I didn't want to believe it. They let him go and he collapsed against the side of a wagon heaving.

"Barrett!" I ran to Barrett and was surprised that none of them tried to stop me. Leonel followed me. Kneeling down next to him I saw he was exhausted, disheveled and hurt. He had bruising on his arms and legs, his clothing was torn and his braid had come undone leaving his hair falling well past his shoulders.

"Dad," Leonel sobbed. "Dad, I'm so sorry. This is my fault." Barrett slowly reached out his hand and ruffled his hair. Leonel stopped crying and looked up at him.

"It's okay," he whispered. His hand ran down Leonel's back and I saw his expression change as he felt the scars left from the beatings. "Whatever they did to you I don't blame you for it." Leonel hugged his father and sobbed into his chest. Barrett held him and looked at me. His normally calm expression was replaced by one of concern and relief. "Kei, are you hurt?"

"I-I'm fine," I choked out. Barrett looked relieved and lifted the hand that wasn't holding Leonel to stroke my face. "I'm scared though."

"We'll do everything we can to protect you," Barrett promised and I knew he believed he could do it. But I wasn't so sure, they were ready to perform the ceremony and I still didn't know what it was.

"Barrett," I said nestling closer to him. He wrapped his arm around me similar to the way my father did. "I don't want anyone else to die or get hurt for me."

"How sweet," a voice said. I jerked from my current position and turned around with my ears flattened. His scent was the first thing that hit me and it wasn't human. It was like my dad's, he was a monster. He had short cut hair that was dark brown. He wasn't overly muscled but he had clear muscle tone and the one thing that unnerved me most were his ears, they were exactly like my dad's.

"Who are you?" I asked. He smiled at me as if I was a naïve child.

"It's been a while, Kei," he said. "How is Kona doing? I heard he had a nasty injury after being attacked of course I suppose it's a good thing that Aunt Irisa was there to help him."

"Kei, do you know him?" Leonel asked me. I shook my head. I had never seen him before but he clearly knew my father.

"I don't think dear Kona ever mentioned me to his little girl," he said. "Why would he? After all he and I had some very…different opinions." He got closer to me and I stood up determined not to be intimidated. "You look a lot like Kona except I can see the traits of your human mother showing through."

"Who are you?" I demanded again. "How do you know my dad?"

"Patience Kei," he said dodging the question. "You haven't introduced me to your human friends."

"What do you want?" Leonel growled and I immediately wished he had remained silent. The guy looked at him with a twisted grin.

"Watch your tongue human," he said. "I'm the only thing keeping you alive. But, yes, I suppose I should tell you who I am. I am Mado, I believe you know my brother, Kona and you certainly know my little niece." I couldn't find the words to respond. This man was my dad's brother, my uncle.

"My dad never mentioned a brother," I said to him. Mado reached out to stroke my cheek.

"No, he wouldn't. He and I had a bit of a falling out," he smiled. "He never liked the idea of what I'm planning with the ceremony." I grimaced when he mentioned the ceremony. Barrett and Leonel slowly rose behind me.

"Kei is your family and you're going to sacrifice her," Leonel cried.

"This creature is not my family, she shouldn't be alive." I flinched at his words. Barrett put his hand on my shoulder. Mado took out what appeared to be a pocket watch and opened it. "But, enough with the idle banter. I have a sacrifice to get started." Fire erupted around us and destroyed the camp. Leonel and I screamed as the fire consumed the area destroying everything. The fire quickly extinguished itself until there were only a few small fires left. I felt my face grow wet as tears streamed down it.

"Why the tears, Kei?" He asked. "They hurt you and your friends. They deserved to die."

"Not like this!" I yelled. "You used them and cast them aside! They didn't mean anything to you, there's no way my father is related to you." I knew I should hate them for what they had done but I couldn't bring myself to wish this kind of death on anyone.

"I'd call you a monster but I'd be insulting Kei and her father," Barrett hissed.

"I am a monster, human. I created Horizon for the sole purpose of performing this ceremony and now that everything is in place I no longer have need of them. Humans are so easily tricked when you promise them power. Come along Kei, time to meet your destiny." He reached for me and I shied away from him.

"No," I said. He smiled sadistically.

"It wasn't a request, Kei." He grabbed my arm and yanked me up. "You will fulfill a great purpose. You will host the reincarnated soul of our great ancestor." I shook my head. A great purpose? A host to someone else's spirit? He was crazy. "Your father was too weak to understand the grand design our ancestors had. He and Irisa took after our father and believed we should live with the humans. Our great grandfather planned on taking control of this world and our mother shared his views. If the earthmates had not stopped him this world would be ours."

"My dad will stop you," I threatened. "He'll kill you."

"Kona doesn't even have the strength to stand," he laughed. "His injuries were so severe it's a miracle he didn't die instantly. That's why I was so desperate to catch you, I would never get to you if Kona was around."

"You're crazy!" Barrett yelled. Mado reached out and touched Barrett's cheek and then pulled his hand away and struck him. I gasped sharply. Barrett rubbed his cheek where a red mark was now forming.

"You're going to keep quiet," he ordered. "I control your fate, human. You're only here to translate after that you have no purpose."

"Don't touch him!" I yelled at him. Mado clearly thought he was better than humans and had little regard or respect for them. He had created Horizon just to make finding the ceremony easier and when he got want he wanted he just destroyed them. Those like him were the reason me and my father were looked at differently. If he thought I was just going to roll over and submit to this ceremony he was badly mistaken. "My dad will come and he'll kill you regardless of your relationship."

"I'm counting on it," Mado sneered. "I want to see his face once I take away everything precious to him. As much as I want to kill you this ceremony only works if I use the blood of a half breed. You should feel honored that your filthy blood will be redeemed."

"Kei is perfectly normal!" Leonel said back.

"It doesn't matter. It's time for the ceremony."


	22. Th Altar

**I'm sad to say that this will probably be my last update for a while because of winter break in college I won't have easy internet access and the library wi-fi hates my computer. On the upside this is the best chapter in the story so I hope you enjoy it.**

My father's description of the altar didn't do it justice, it was far more terrifying in person. It was stone but not the slate that made up the mountains. It appeared to be more like the rune crystal found in the cave where father was. The round platform seemed to hum with power and I could see that even though Leonel and Barrett weren't affected by it like I was they could still feel the energy. A statue towered over the back of the altar, a horned dragon with its wings outspread. Terror gripped my chest as I was faced with the sudden realization that this was happening, I was really going to die. All the time I was kept safe, the investigating that had gone into Horizon, the sacrifices made by my father and the people of Alvarna, all of it worthless now.

"That's…" Barrett said as if he couldn't find the words to say what he thought. A rare occurrence indeed.

"Yes, you would know," Mado said as if taunting his current state of shock. "A symbol of the earthmates, Terrable. They created this you know. Earthmates like to meddle in things that aren't theirs to do. The altar you see was created by them to give life and create, this little spell has many uses in those categories. They discovered that they could place a soul into a living vessel using a half monster. For whatever reason they abandoned the plan and sealed the altar so it couldn't be used."

"And you want me to unseal it," Barrett stated. "Not going to happen."

"You're still going to protect Kei," Mado sighed. "I don't understand humans. You should be worried about your son instead of my niece." Mado reached for Leonel. I could hear his heart racing as Mado locked his hand around his neck. Leonel began screaming and thrashing in his grip and it looked as if Mado was forcing large amounts of energy into his body. "Shall we see how long he lasts before his heart gives out?" Barrett clenched his jaw knowing that the only way to help Leonel was to help him kill me. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want Leonel to die for me," I whispered. Barrett nodded and Mado ceased his torment of Leonel. I watched as he led Barrett to a small stone pillar with writing on it. Barrett knelt down and examined the writing.

"The blood of innocence spilled releases the seal," Barrett read. I didn't know what that meant but I didn't like it. "I don't know what it means."

"But I do," Mado gave a wide grin. "I enjoy playing with you. I think you already know what it means so why don't you tell me what it means in terms of old magic."

Barrett sighed. "Innocence usually refers to a virgin whether man or woman or it could mean a child."

"Very good," Mado said. I hissed when he stroked Barrett like a dog. Mado thought little of humans and probably did consider Barrett to be a pet. "Luckily I have both options open to me." He gestured to Leonel. He grabbed Leonel by the arm and dragged him to the pillar. He drew a knife and slashed it across Leonel's palm much to my and Barrett's shock. The scent of blood hit me instantly as Mado pressed down on the skin around the wound and blood dripped onto a strange circle in front of the pillar. As soon as the first drop of blood touched the circle blue light erupted from the center of the altar. It spread outward following the lines until the entire place was awash with light before it dimmed so that the lines glowed only with a dim light. The seal was broken.

I began to tremble. I watched as Barrett examined Leonel's hand before taking off his bandana and wrapping it around the injury.

"Finally everything will be as our ancestors planned," he said. When he picked me up I struggled against him, kicking and screaming trying desperately to claw his face. His grip was like iron and wouldn't relent until he threw me into the center of the altar. As soon as I hit the ground I jumped up trying to escape but the light had formed a barrier that immediately stopped me, I was trapped.

"Let me go!" I cried. My ears flattened and my tail hung low. "Leonel!"

"Hush," he barked. "Your friends can't help you they can't reach us because of the barrier." He knelt down and placed his hands on the lines. "Rise," he uttered that word and the light intensified. I felt pressure in my head.

_Submit._ The word echoed in my head. I wasn't quite sure where it came from.

"No," I screamed as I clutched my head. My tail thrashed against the barrier.

_Submit._ It was louder and more demanding this time. It felt like whoever the voice belonged to was trying to take control.

"No!" I yelled louder. The pressure on my mind increased and I blacked out.

When I opened my eyes I found myself lying on the ground in the center of Alvarna. I didn't understand what was happening, how did I end up here when I was miles away at the altar? I looked up and saw the normal blue sky filled with soft clouds and the trees still had autumn leaves on them. I didn't understand that either, the trees were beginning to lose their leaves when I left and the trees I had seen since had lost most of their leaves but the ones hear were full. Even more disconcerting was the lack of sound in the area. I couldn't hear or smell anything as I walked around town, the doors were locked and I couldn't enter any of them. Without any real reason I found myself at Kyle's home. I tried to open the door and found that, to my surprise, it opened. I stepped inside and found that it was completely empty of people. All the furniture and everything else was where it had always been but I couldn't find any sign of someone living there.

_"So this is where you've been hiding."_ It was the same voice. I turned around to see who it was and found that even though I could clearly make out a human shape I couldn't see the details even though I knew they were there. Whoever they were it was clear that they were female. _"When you lost consciousness you retreated to the place you considered safe to protect yourself from me. Clearly it's this town. Now, you will submit to me."_

"Never! You'll kill them," I cried.

_"I never imagined a half breed could be so strong willed against me but it makes no difference. The spell has been activated and you will submit."_

*Leonel's POV*

I couldn't bear watching watch Mado did to Kei. She screamed and cried, trying in vain to break free from the altar. The light around her intensified and she began screaming 'no' over and over again. Having to watch this, it felt like someone was tearing my soul out. The pain I felt easily overpowered the pain I felt from the cut on my hand. We couldn't reach her, I had tried but was knocked back by some kind of barrier that had formed around the altar. When she lost consciousness I nearly broke down but Kei was only out for a few moments when the light dimmed and she rose to her feet. The barrier was gone and she moved out of the center but I knew something was wrong

That wasn't Kei. It looked exactly like Kei but the way she walked, the way she held herself, the subtle twitches I had associated with Kei were different. It was Kei's body but I knew whoever was in control wasn't her.

_"It's been so long since I've been in this world," _She said as she looked down at her hands. It was Kei's voice but there was an underlying tone of someone else. _"Now to begin what those earthmates stopped."_

"Kei," I muttered so quietly I thought she wouldn't hear but her head snapped around and her eyes bored into me. Those weren't her eyes either, I had never seen Kei's eyes so dark and distant.

_"She is as good as dead." _The voice grated my ears_. "I am Selena, one of the first of our kind to settle in this world from the Forest. Earthmate may have stopped me in the past but now I will do what countless of my kind died trying to, I will take this realm from you, humans, your time is finished."_

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. If you want to get me a Christmas present I would like some more reviews to read over break. **


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